Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take (a) through the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement and (b) at the G20 to reduce agriculture subsidies in developed countries. [50731]
Mr Paice: Bilateral and regional free trade agreements determine market access, not subsidies. However, completing multilateral trade negotiations—the Doha Development Agenda—would tackle developed countries' trade-distorting agricultural subsidies. The UK has helped to ensure an ambitious EU offer in these negotiations. At its most recent summit last November, the G20 restated its commitment to completing the Doha negotiations. In G20 discussions on the price volatility of agricultural commodities, the UK is arguing for deeper and more transparent markets throughout the G20 in which the role of distorting subsidies and trade practices—such as export restrictions—is greatly reduced. Furthermore, the UK is arguing for a very substantial reduction in subsidies to agriculture as part of current negotiations on the future of the common agricultural policy.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many eligible claims for the Single Payment Scheme are outstanding to farmers in Pendle constituency; and what the combined value of such claims is. [51240]
Mr Paice: The Rural Payments Agency does not record information on payments to farmers on a constituency basis. The information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on the number of wild animals used in travelling circuses. [51901]
Mr Paice: We do not maintain figures for the number of wild animals used in travelling circuses, although we understand that the figure is approximately 50.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent representations she has made at the EU Agriculture Council on the pre-market authorisation of meat and other products derived from cloned animals; [50391]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 2W
(2) what representations Ministers in her Department made at the most recent meeting of the Agricultural and Fisheries Council on the mandatory labelling of food derived from the offspring of cloned animals. [50728]
Mr Paice: The pre-market authorisation of meat and other products derived from cloned animals and the mandatory labelling of food derived from offspring of cloned animals have not been discussed at recent meetings of the EU Agriculture Council. They have been discussed by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Governments of EU member states (COREPER). COREPER agreed the approach to be taken by the Council at meetings of the Conciliation Committee set up to try to resolve differences between the Council and the European Parliament on proposed amendments to the EU Novel Foods Regulation.
The UK Government made it clear in COREPER discussions that it considers that a ban on cloning and food from clones would be disproportionate in terms of food safety and animal welfare. We are content with pre-market authorisation of food from cloned animals as required by existing novel foods legislation.
The Government also made it clear that mandatory labelling of meat or milk products derived from animals with a clone in their ancestry would be unenforceable and impractical because there is no traceability system that can be applied to imported or home produced products from descendants of clones. As there are no food safety issues, the cost of introducing a mandatory system, which would need to comply with international trade rules, cannot be justified.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she plans to repeal rules prohibiting the sale of meat and milk products from the offspring of cloned animals. [51534]
Mr Paice: Under the EU novel foods regulation, food from cloned animals must be authorised before it can be legally marketed anywhere in the EU. There are no EU or UK rules prohibiting the sale of meat and milk products from the offspring of cloned animals. The European Commission and other member states do not consider that food from an animal descended from a clone falls within the scope of this legislation. The Food Standards Agency is considering results from a recent consultation before deciding whether to adopt the Commission's position and expects to make an announcement shortly.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the development of a cross-EU strategy on biodiversity. [50612]
Richard Benyon: The UK supports the development of a new EU biodiversity strategy. The EU strategy is the EU response to the new global biodiversity framework which was agreed in Nagoya in October last year. It will identify the priorities at EU level for conserving and enhancing biodiversity.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 3W
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had on licences issued to Bobby Roberts' Super Circus. [51753]
Mr Paice: Circuses are not licensed for purposes of animal welfare but, under the Performing Animals (Regulation) Act 1925, are required to register the details of all animals used in performance with the relevant local authority. Under the 1925 Act, local authorities and police have powers to enter premises to inspect animals for purposes of welfare.
No discussions have taken place between DEFRA and the relevant local authority under which Bobby Roberts' Super Circus has registered under the 1925 Act.
Registration under the 1925 Act can only be withdrawn if the individual concerned is convicted of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal.
All animals under the control of man, including those at circuses, are protected by the Animal Welfare Act 2006 which makes it an offence to cause any unnecessary suffering to an animal or fail to provide for an animal's welfare needs.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many instances of bovine TB were reported in (a) Pendle constituency and (b) Lancashire in each of the last five years. [51239]
Mr Paice: New TB incidents reported for Lancashire are as follows:
| New TB incidents reported in the year 1 January to 31 December | |
|
|
Number |
| Source: Vetnet—Animal Health Database (downloaded 4 April 2011). | |
For data protection reasons, we do not disclose figures that total less than 10, as this may lead to identification of individual cases. Data for new TB incidents in Pendle constituency are not available.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish the terms of the Government Buying Standards for (a) transport, (b) food, (c) furniture, (d) textiles, (e) gardening services, (f) water-using products and (g) cleaning products. [50611]
Mr Paice: The Government Buying Standards have already been published for transport, furniture, textiles, gardening (now renamed horticulture and park) services, water using products and cleaning products and services.
The new Government Buying Standards for food will be a further important step towards our ambition of
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being the greenest Government ever so it is important that we get them right. We have completed a thorough review of all the evidence and are now taking account of responses. We will make an announcement shortly.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding her Department has provided for research into the dairy farming sector in each of the last five years. [51237]
Mr Paice: The following table shows the funding DEFRA has provided for research into the dairy farming sector in each of the last five years for which figures are available. This includes:
Research to quantify and improve the environmental performance of dairy farming, including research on: genetic improvement of forage crops and livestock; measurement of emissions to air and water; animal nutrition, pasture and forage agronomy; and manure and slurry management. This research includes work relevant to dairy as well as other livestock sectors.
Research to improve the health and welfare of dairy cows, including research on: bovine tuberculosis (TB); uterine disease; bovine mastitis; alleviation of lameness; welfare of dairy cows in organic milk production systems; early lameness detection; welfare of continuously housed dairy cows; and identifying and characterising robust dairy cows. The TB research included, which is relevant to the whole cattle industry, does not include work on the randomised badger culling trial.
| Financial year | Research spend (£000) |
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of her Department since her appointment. [51997]
Richard Benyon: Since her appointment, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has not issued any ministerial directions to the accounting officers of the Department.
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contracts her Department and its associated public bodies signed with Lockheed Martin in each of the last 10 years; and for what purposes each such contract was let. [50697]
Richard Benyon: The core Department had a contract with Lockheed Martin UK INSYS Ltd between 2005 and 2008 for the provision of software development and support. This contract finished in 2008 when support was no longer required.
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The following list shows that no associated public bodies had any contracts with Lockheed Martin.
Animal Health
Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science
Rural Payments Agency
Veterinary Laboratories Agency
Veterinary Medicines Directorate
Food and Environment Research Agency
Marine Management Organisation
Environment Agency
Gangmasters Licensing Authority
Joint Nature Conservation Committee
National Forestry Co.
Natural England
Royal Botanical Gardens—Kew
Sustainable Development Commission
Commission for Rural Communities
Consumer Council for Water
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date (a) she and (b) each other Minister in her Department last used a ministerial car while travelling in an official capacity; and how many times (i) she and (ii) each other Minister in her Department has travelled to their constituency in a ministerial car since May 2010. [50193]
Richard Benyon: The ministerial car was last used in an official capacity by:
(a) the Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs Spelman), on 4 April, and
(b) the Minister of State, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Mr Paice), the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Lord Hunt, and myself on 30 March.
The Secretary of State has travelled to her constituency once in a ministerial car since May 2010, following an international trip on departmental business.
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate her Department has made of the level of savings which will accrue from the (1) abolition of the Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committees; [48623]
(2) abolition of the Advisory Committee on Organic Standards; [48624]
(3) abolition of the Advisory Committee on Hazardous Substances; [48625]
(4) abolition of the Zoos Forum; [48709]
(5) abolition of the Veterinary Residues Committee; [48710]
(6) abolition of the Sustainable Development Commission; [48711]
(7) abolition of the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee; [48712]
(8) abolition of the Plant Varieties and Seeds Tribunal; [48713]
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(9) abolition of the Pesticide Residues Committee; [48714]
(10) abolition of the National Standing Committee on Farm Animal Genetic Resources; [48715]
(11) abolition of the Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel; [48716]
(12) abolition of Food from Britain. [48717]
(13) abolition of the Farm Animal Welfare Council; [48718]
(14) abolition of the Darwin Advisory Committee; [48719]
(15) abolition of Commons Commissioners; [48720]
(16) abolition of the Committee on Agricultural Valuation; [48721]
(17) abolition of the British Waterways Board; [48722]
(18) abolition of the Air Quality Expert Group; [48723]
(19) abolition of the Agricultural Wages Committees; [48724]
(20) abolition of the Agricultural Wages Board for England and Wales; [48725]
(21) change in function of the Agricultural Land Tribunal; [48738]
(22) change in function of the Science Advisory Council; [48773]
(23) change in function of Natural England; [48774]
(24) change in function of the National Park Authorities; [48775]
(25) change in function of the Internal Drainage Boards; [48776]
(26) change in function of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority; [48777]
(27) change in function of the Environment Agency. [48778]
Richard Benyon: On 16 March 2011, Official Report, columns 9-10WS, the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), issued a written ministerial statement updating Parliament on progress on public bodies reform. That statement also announced that Departments estimate that cumulative administrative savings of at least £2.6 billion will flow from public bodies over the spending review period.
DEFRA anticipates minimum net cumulative administrative savings resulting from abolitions or changes in functions of our public bodies over the spending review period of approximately £18.58 million which is broken down as follows:
| Public body | Savings (£ million) |
In addition we estimate that the withdrawal of funding to the Sustainable Development Commission (which pre-dates the spending review public bodies reform process) and its abolition will save approximately £2 million per annum.
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These are our best current estimates of planned net savings to emerge from these reforms and are dependent upon the individual timetables for implementation—many of which require the Public Bodies Bill and subsequent secondary legislation or discussions with the devolved administrations. Consequently, not all savings figures can be determined precisely at this stage. The following table summarises the position for each of the bodies asked about.
In addition to the savings expected from abolitions or changes in function, we anticipate that cumulative planned administrative reductions from all DEFRA's public bodies will be approximately £250.93 million over the spending review period in real terms. DEFRA published spending review allocations for its arm’s length bodies alongside current baselines on our external website on 20 December 2010. These are available at:
http://ww2.defra.gov.uk/news/2010/12/20/budget-allocations-101220/
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Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what date (a) she and (b) each other Minister in her Department last travelled by (i) London underground and (ii) public bus services on Government business; how many times (A) she and (B) each other Minister in her Department has travelled by each such form of transport on Government business since May 2010; and if she will make a statement. [50088]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA Ministers regularly use public transport on official Government business and since May 2010 the Department has reduced the number of ministerial cars from three to one. We do not keep records of individual journeys made by public transport. The information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of her ministerial team have been issued with (a) an Oyster card and (b) a (i) monthly and (ii) annual travel card valid on London Transport and paid for by her Department for use while travelling on Government business. [50171]
Richard Benyon: The Minister of State, the right hon. Member for South East Cambridgeshire (Mr Paice), the Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Lord Hunt, and I have all been issued with pay as you go Oyster cards. None of the ministerial team have been issued with monthly or annual travel cards for London Transport paid for by the Department.
There were three ministerial cars whereas now there is only one, and prior to May 2010 only one member of the ministerial team had an Oyster card issued by the Department whereas now three do.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much her Department has spent on ministerial travel by (a) ministerial car, (b) train, (c) bus, (d) commercial aircraft and (e) private aircraft since May 2010. [50213]
Richard Benyon: The following has been spent on ministerial travel since May 2010:
| Mode of transport | Total spend since May 2010 (£) |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 9W
Section 10 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the health of pedigree dogs is prioritised rather than any breed confirmation. [52114]
Mr Paice: I understand that some people have concerns about the health of pedigree dogs. An independent Dog Advisory Council was recently set up, under the chairmanship of Professor Sheila Crispin, to work with key dog interest groups such as the Kennel Club and Dogs Trust, to try and tackle problems associated with genetic defects in pedigree dogs. The Government will of course consider any recommendations that the Dog Advisory Council makes.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions her Department has had with the Dog Advisory Council (DAC); what progress the DAC has made on its work on health problems in dogs in the last six months; and if she will make a statement. [52115]
Mr Paice: Lord Henley attended the inaugural meeting of the Dog Advisory Council on 8 December and the Council recently forwarded its programme of work for 2011. There is also frequent contact between officials and the Chair of the Council. As the Council is an independent body, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on progress, but as the hon. Member knows, the Council has only just been formed and is looking into complex matters.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to her Department has been of its study into the effect of pet training aids on the welfare of domestic dogs. [52498]
Mr Paice: Research into the welfare of dogs trained with pet training aids was commissioned by the previous Government in September 2007 and is due to complete in June 2011. The cost of that research was £538,925.
Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what requests the Environment Agency has received for an environmental impact assessment of the proposal by E.ON for a waste incineration facility at Harper Lane, Radlett. [51181]
Richard Benyon:
The Environment Agency (EA) was consulted by Hertfordshire county council on a formal scoping opinion for an environment impact assessment
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(as defined by the EIA regulations) at Harper Lane on 27 October 2010. The EA provided a written response to the scoping report on 22 November 2010.
The EA's key concern is Harper Lane's proximity to two public drinking water abstraction sites; it considers that the operation of an incinerator in this location would pose an unacceptable risk to these groundwater resources.
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will review the level of modulation rates paid by farmers; and if she will make a statement. [50397]
Mr Paice: The rates of modulation between Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 paid by farmers are fixed for the period of the current financial perspective, 2007-2013, and we do not expect them to be further reviewed in advance of the upcoming negotiations on the common agricultural policy for the next seven year financial framework, 2014-20.
Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 4 March 2011, Official Report, columns 47-8WS, on the Single Payment scheme, what steps are being taken to support farmers facing delays in payments from the Single Payment scheme. [49609]
Mr Paice: The further written statement which I made on 31 March 2011, Official Report, columns 35-36WS, explains the decisions that have been taken, including the use of manually validated payments, to speed up the flow of the remaining payments under the 2010 Single Payment scheme. Manual payments have already been made on a number of hardship cases referred to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) by farming charities and farmer representative bodies and this facility will continue. In order to assist business planning, RPA is also now writing to those farmers who have not been paid to date to advise them of the month in which payment is expected to be paid. Additionally I have written to the banks asking them to alert their staff to the situation and asking them to be understanding in meeting reasonable requests for assistance.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the phasing out of environmentally-harmful subsidies available through the European Fisheries Fund. [52521]
Richard Benyon: Direct subsidies to fishermen can undermine attempts to deliver sustainable fisheries, and lead to unintended environmental harm. As stated in the UK response to the Commission's Green Paper on Common Fisheries Policy reform, our view is that both policy makers and industry should aim to phase out permanent fisheries subsidies at both EU and international level. However, we do recognise that to achieve sustainable fisheries there may be a role for adaptation support.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 11W
The European Fisheries Fund (EFF) is intended to help secure a sustainable and profitable fishing industry in line with the objectives of the common fisheries policy. In the UK the fund is used to support an industry that is both environmentally and economically sustainable and well managed in line with policies for the protection of the marine and freshwater environment. All applications for funding under the EFF are closely scrutinised and assessed before they are approved to ensure they meet the criteria laid down in the EU regulations and adhere to the UK's strategic and operational programmes for implementing and delivering the scheme.
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will have further discussions on fish discards with the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. [51448]
Richard Benyon: As UK Fisheries Minister, I lead on discussions with our European counterparts on the discarding of fish.
The reform of the common fisheries policy (CFP) is key to solving this problem and we will work hard to influence, and shape, the policy. Further to the high level meeting of 1 March, I will be seeking any suitable opportunity for discussion with the commissioner on discards within the context of the CFP reforms.
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how the composition of her Department’s Independent Panel on Forestry was determined. [51709]
Mr Paice: The Panel and Chair were chosen by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who considered a wide range of names. In deciding on the membership of the Panel, the Secretary of State felt that the Panel should be small so that it can operate effectively in a focussed manner. The individuals were chosen for the knowledge and experience they could bring to the Panel, not for the organisations to which they may belong. The terms of reference make it clear that we expect the Panel to engage the widest possible range of views.
Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what consideration she gave to appointing a representative of dog walkers to the Independent Panel on Forestry Policy. [51299]
Mr Paice: The panel and chair were chosen by the Secretary of State who considered a wide range of names. It is important that the panel has a broad range of experience and expertise. In deciding on the membership of the panel, the Secretary of State felt that the panel should be small so that it can operate effectively in a focused manner. It is not a panel of delegates from interested organisations but of individuals bringing their own knowledge and experience. The terms of reference make it clear that we expect the panel to engage the widest possible range of views.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 12W
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans she has for the sale of publicly-owned forests in Kent. [51311]
Mr Paice: All new sales of public forest estate were suspended from 17 February 2011. We will decide on the level of any future sales and the conditions to be attached to them only once we have received and considered the advice from the Independent Panel on Forestry.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on measures to protect the habitat of frogspawn. [50592]
Richard Benyon: Frogs make use of a wide range of waterbodies for spawning. Between 2005 and 2010 agri-environment schemes provided over £7.5 million for a range of different pond creation and restoration schemes on farmland. The Million Ponds Project co-ordinated by Pond Conservation in association with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation is creating 5,000 ponds between 2008 and 2012, with 1,429 clean water ponds created by 2010.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the authorisation of trials for the planting of genetically modified crops. [51287]
Mr Paice: EU legislation provides for trials of genetically modified (GM) crops to be authorised at member state level if a robust assessment indicates that human health and the environment will not be compromised. The Government support this evidence-based approach, and receive advice on proposed GM trial releases from an independent committee of scientific experts.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the potential for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture of alterations in the feedstuffs provided to livestock. [51065]
Mr Paice: DEFRA has funded research to investigate the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock by dietary and nutritional control. These studies have showed that feeding ruminant livestock foods such as maize silage, naked oats and higher sugar grasses can reduce the amount of methane they produce.
Research carried out by Reading University and the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), under projects commissioned by DEFRA in January 2005 and April 2007, showed that it is nutritionally possible to reduce nitrogen excretion from cattle and sheep and their methane emissions. For example: increasing the proportion of maize silage from 25 to 75% in a
26 Apr 2011 : Column 13W
short-term trial was found to reduce methane emission per kg milk by 6%; high-sugar grasses could reduce an animal's methane emissions by 20% for every kilo of weight gain; naked oats could reduce methane emissions from sheep by 33%; and crushed rapeseed could reduce methane production from dairy cows by 20% per litre of milk produced. In the longer term, the benefits gained by changing animals' diets will need to be considered against other environmental impacts, as well as how practical or costly they are for the farming industry to implement.
Mr Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what regulations implemented arrangements for horse passports; and what objectives were set for the effects of the introduction of such passports at the time of their implementation. [49373]
Mr Paice: The Horse Passports Regulations 2009 apply in England and implement the requirements of Commission Regulation (EC) No 504/2008. These regulations are intended to assure the safety of horse meat for human consumption.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the policy of her Department is on the introduction of a ban on snares. [47835]
Mr Paice: The DEFRA Code of Practice on the Use of Snares in Fox and Rabbit Control in England gives guidance on the responsible use of snares. DEFRA has no plans to introduce a ban on snares.
Nicky Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has had discussions with the Environment Agency on steps to ensure public consultation prior to granting an environmental permit for an incinerator. [50961]
Richard Benyon: The Secretary of State has had no such discussions. The Environment Agency regulates incinerators under the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) Regulations 2010. An environmental permit will not be issued if a proposal presents a significant risk to the environment or human health.
The Environment Agency advertises environmental permit applications on its website and notifies bodies with which it has “Working Together Agreements”. Where the Environment Agency identifies a site as being of high public interest, it goes to extra lengths to make the public aware of the application and hear views. This is carried out in line with the Environment Agency's statutory Public Participation Statement. Comments received during consultation are considered as part of the determination process. The Environment Agency then publishes its draft decision, with an explanation of how it was reached. Further comments are taken into account during this second consultation period, before a final decision is issued.
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Mr Clappison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the effect on human health of the release of (a) dioxins, (b) nanoparticles and (c) other particulate matter as a result of waste incineration energy facilities; and what research she has (i) commissioned and (ii) evaluated on this issue. [51370]
Richard Benyon: In 2009 the Health Protection Agency reviewed scientific evidence on the health effects of modern municipal waste incinerators. Its report, which is available on the HPA website, concluded that while it is not possible to rule out adverse health effects completely, any potential damage from modern, well run and regulated incinerators is likely to be so small that it would be undetectable.
The report also concluded that further studies of public health around individual incinerators were not scientifically justifiable. No further research has been commissioned.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) on what date she expects the Independent Panel on Forestry to hold its first meeting; and on what dates the panel's subsequent meetings are scheduled to take place; [51170]
(2) if she will require the forestry panel to publish agendas in advance of its meetings. [51331]
Mr Paice: The panel had its first meeting on 31 March and is making arrangements for subsequent meetings. All dates will be published on the panel's web pages which can be found on DEFRA's website.
The terms of reference are clear that we expect the panel to engage and take evidence from the widest range of views and interests. It is for the panel to decide what information it publishes as part of this engagement.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on measures to protect the dragonfly population. [50591]
Richard Benyon: Two species of dragonflies, the southern damselfly and the Norfolk hawker, are listed on section 41 of the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006 (the priority species list) and are receiving special attention through biodiversity action plans. Action for the southern damselfly is led by the Environment Agency and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, and action for the Norfolk hawker is led by the British Dragonfly Society. Both have received support from Natural England.
In addition to this, 108 sites of special scientific interest have outstanding dragonfly species assemblages as one of their notified features. Dragonflies are associated with a wide range of permanent and temporary ponds and water bodies. Action to deliver enhanced wetlands through biodiversity action plans and to create or restore ponds under agri-environment schemes are also expected to benefit dragonfly populations. Ponds are also being created through the Million Ponds Project co-ordinated
26 Apr 2011 : Column 15W
by Pond Conservation in association with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation and part funded by Natural England. Phase I of that project, from 2008-12, is creating 5,000 ponds.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to reduce methane emissions from cows; what assessment she has made of the effects on levels of methane emitted by cows of feeding cows linseed; and if she will make a statement. [51238]
Mr Paice: On 4 April the English farming industry published its Greenhouse Gas Action Plan, which outlines how the industry can reduce on-farm emissions through resource-efficient practices; this includes reducing methane emissions from livestock.
Encouraged by DEFRA, the industry is also working hard to implement the dairy and beef and sheep sector roadmaps that aim to reduce the environmental impacts of milk and beef production, including methane emissions. DEFRA and the devolved Administrations are investing £12.6 million in the UK agriculture greenhouse gas (GHG) research and development platform to improve our agricultural GHG inventory. Work will be undertaken to assess the effects of feeding extruded linseed on methane emissions from dairy cows. DEFRA has also funded research to investigate the potential of reducing GHG emissions from livestock by other dietary and nutritional controls. These studies have shown that feeding ruminant livestock foods such as maize silage, naked oats and higher sugar grasses can reduce the amount of methane they produce.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many prosecutions for offences relating to the welfare of farm animals have (a) been brought and (b) resulted in convictions in each of the last three years. [52098]
Mr Paice: The following table lists the numbers of prosecutions and convictions under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. It is not possible to separately identify farm and non-farm animals. Centralised records of offences under secondary legislation such as the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 are not recorded.
|
|
Prosecutions initiated | Convictions achieved |
| Source: Formal enforcement actions recorded and supplied to the Department by local authorities using DEFRA form AH134 and the Animal Health and Welfare Management and Enforcement Database (AMES). | ||
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research her Department has (a) commissioned and (b) funded on any relationship between standards in animal welfare and the profitability of farming businesses. [52101]
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Mr Paice: DEFRA’s approach to determining the relationship between standards in animal welfare and the profitability of farming businesses is to include cost-benefit analyses within research projects. This approach allows any costs to business resulting from a change in animal management to be assessed against the benefits to business and to the animals.
This approach is used for all types of welfare projects, from those dealing with on-farm management to those examining the welfare of animals at slaughter.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on that Department's review of statutory duties placed on local government. [50378]
Richard Benyon: DEFRA and DCLG Secretaries of State meet regularly to discuss issues of common interest to their Departments. Discussions would include the work that Departments are doing to promote the devolution of power to local government and remove unnecessary burdens and restrictions. There have been no meetings specifically on the review of statutory duties placed on local government.
All Government Departments, which place responsibilities on local government, have agreed to contribute to the review and officials have been working closely together as a first step towards identifying these statutory duties. An initial draft list, including the duties identified so far by DEFRA, was published and a copy placed in the Library of the House on 7 March 2011.
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what recent discussions she has had with the food industry on (a) labelling and (b) point of sale information for halal meat; [51720]
(2) with which (a) representatives and (b) organisations of the food industry she has had recent discussions on the labelling of halal and kosher meat; and what points were covered in those discussions. [51898]
Mr Paice: Since mid-2010 a number of meetings have taken place at which method of slaughter labelling was discussed. These have involved the British Retail Consortium, chief executives and senior representatives of the main grocery retailers, the British Hospitality Association, the British Services Association, the British Meat Processors Association, Dairy UK and the Food and Drink Federation.
In addition, meetings have also taken place to discuss (i) the welfare of animals during religious slaughter, (ii) implementation of EU Regulation 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at killing and (iii) method of slaughter labelling have also taken place with or involving Shechita UK, organisations representing the Muslim Community, halal certifying bodies and halal meat producers, the British Meat Processors Association, the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, the British
26 Apr 2011 : Column 17W
Veterinary Association, the Humane Slaughter Association, the Veterinary Public Health Association and the Food Standards Agency.
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the labelling of halal and kosher meat. [51900]
Mr Paice: There is no requirement to label meat as halal or kosher. However, where meat is labelled as halal or kosher voluntarily, this must not mislead the consumer and information provided on the label or in the presentation of a food must not be false or misleading.
We are aware that some people would like to have more information about the methods used to slaughter animals. However, this is a difficult, complex and sensitive issue that cannot easily be resolved in view of the many competing interests involved. We will be looking at this further, but will need to consider any approach to labelling carefully in the context of EU labelling legislation and welfare requirements.
Dan Byles: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of (a) the average price of a litre of milk in supermarkets, (b) the average price of a litre of milk paid to farmers and (c) the average cost of production of a litre of milk in the latest period for which figures are available. [47671]
Mr Paice: Several major supermarkets currently sell a four-pint polybottle for £1.25, which represents a price of 55 pence per litre (ppl). Some currently offer two four-pint polybottles for £2, which represents a price of 44 ppl.
The UK January 2011 average farm-gate price (the most recent available) was 25.72 ppl. This is 4.25% higher than January 2010. There is a wide variation in farm-gate prices.
DEFRA has estimated the following costs(1) of milk production for 2009-10 using data from the Farm Business Survey in England(2). These estimates are representative of the vast majority of milk produced in England and will include a small proportion of organic production. The average cost of production was around 22.5 ppl.
(1) The costs included in this analysis cover fixed and variable costs and imputed charges for unpaid labour and an imputed rent on owned land. Some of the costs are allocated to the dairy enterprise by arithmetic estimation rather than directly from the farm's accounts.
(2) The Farm Business Survey sample covers businesses with a Standard Labour Requirement of at least 0.5, i.e. a size considered sufficient to occupy a farmer for at least half their time.
| Cost of production | Proportion of milk produced under these costs in 20 09-10 (p ercentage) |
| Source: Farm Business Survey, England 2009-10. | |
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Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many hectares of woodland have been created by the National Forest Company in each of the last four years; [51838]
(2) what estimate she has made of the number of hectares of woodland which will be created by the National Forest Company in each of the next four years. [51839]
Mr Paice: The National Forest Company has created the following amounts of woodland over the last four years:
|
|
Hectares |
In 2011-12 the National Forest Company estimates that it will create 150 hectares of woodland, and in the three years following it expects to plant in the range of 150 to 175 hectares.
Mary Creagh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress has been made on the potential merger between the National Forest Company and Heart of the National Forest Foundation. [51840]
Mr Paice: DEFRA has no plans for a merger between the National Forest Company and the National Forest Charitable Trust (the renamed Heart of the National Forest Foundation). There is, however, strengthened joint working on fundraising which will continue into the future. The National Forest Company continues to be the body which creates the National Forest.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what her policy is on the ownership and management of National Park land in England. [43419]
Richard Benyon: Each National Park has a management plan which sets out the long-term goals for that National Park. However, management of individual areas of land is a matter for the individual land owner or manager, complying with grant conditions where they have chosen to enter into an agri-environment agreement. National Park authorities only exceptionally own land themselves.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will commission a comparative study of the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on the grooming behaviour of (a) termites and (b) bees. [50755]
Mr Paice:
The Government are focused on ensuring that pesticides do not harm people and the environment,
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including bee populations. A comparative study of grooming behaviour in bees and termites is not needed for these purposes.
Under European legislation, pesticide active substances are evaluated at EU level according to specific data requirements. For bees, a fundamental need is to consider potential impacts on the overall performance of the population and a new data requirement will be introduced on the impact of neonicotinoid insecticides on overwintering bee populations. The need for this was fully supported by the UK and is in line with advice from pesticide regulatory scientists and the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides following review of the 2009 Buglife report.
Effects of insecticides on grooming behaviour are not currently a standard data requirement in the regulatory process, and have not been identified as a requirement in the revised regime to be introduced shortly by Council Regulation 1107/2009.
The Government will continue to be vigilant in understanding and tackling the various factors that may adversely affect pollinator-populations. Regulatory scientists continue to examine any published studies relevant to this area and to work with other pesticide regulators and in international forums as appropriate. We are carrying out relevant research and, where possible, areas for future research are identified, these will be considered for funding alongside other research priorities.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will establish a national monitoring system for pollinators and pollinating rates. [51053]
Mr Paice: Data on honey bees is collected through the National Bee Unit. The Government supports a wide range of surveillance of wild insect populations, including pollinators, mostly undertaken by the voluntary sector. We have funded work by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology to draw this surveillance data together to identify trend patterns and trends in pollinating insects and to develop means of detecting changes in pollinator services. There are a number of challenges in this, but tools such as the National Ecosystem Assessment and the Countryside Survey give us a basis on which to build. The Government currently has no plans to establish a national monitoring system specifically for pollinators and pollination rates.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research into the effects of neonicotinoids on bees and other invertebrate pollinators has been completed by the Wildlife Incident Investigation scheme. [51054]
Mr Paice: The Wildlife Incident Investigation scheme (WIIS) investigates cases reported to Government that may involve pesticide poisoning. Typically 400 cases are submitted annually with about 30% of these eventually being determined to be pesticide poisoning incidents. On average there are 32 cases per year involving either honey bees, feral bees or bumble bees and of these around 11 (30%) are determined to be pesticide poisoning cases.
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Residues of imidacloprid (a neonicotinoid insecticide) were first detected in bees in a single case during 2009. Preliminary analysis of 2010 data from England, Scotland and Wales indicates there were five WIIS cases involving the detection of two different neonicotinoids (imidacloprid and thiacloprid) either singly or in combination with other pesticides in bees. Given the nature of the WIIS, conclusions, in .terms of trends cannot be drawn from such small numbers, particularly as more sensitive analytical methods have recently been introduced.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much funding was (a) allocated to and (b) spent on research into pesticides and pollinators in financial year (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11; and how much such funding will be allocated in financial year 2011-12. [51055]
Mr Paice: In order to provide maximum flexibility to respond to identified research needs funding within DEFRA's pesticides research programme is not allocated to particular areas. DEFRA has spent or committed the following amounts on research specifically into pesticides and pollinators: (i) 2009-10 £16,000, (ii) 2010-11 £227,000, and expects to spend at least £139,000 in this area in 2011-12. In addition, spending on honey bee research is as follows:
| £ | |
| (1 )The figures for 2010-11 and 2011-12 include the £500,000 per year that DEFRA is contributing to the Insect Pollinators Initiative (IPI) over the next five years which includes research on both honey and bumble bees. The IPI is a £10 million programme established in 2009 to support research to better understand the importance of insect pollinators in the UK as well as threats to them and their management needs. Although much of the funding is directed to honey bee research, there are some research projects on bumblebee ecology or on insect pollinators in general. One of the nine projects is looking at the synergistic impact of sub-lethal exposure to industrial chemicals on the learning capacity and performance of bees. (2 )Estimated. | |
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) if she will bring forward proposals to restrict immediately the use of neonicotinoid pesticides in the UK; [51046]
(2) what assessment she has made of potential links between neonicotinoid use and honey bee performance; and what recent field studies have assessed the effects of systemic pesticides on honey bee performance; [51048]
(3) what assessment she has made of potential links between the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and bee colony collapse disorder; and what scientific evidence she took into account in making this assessment; [51049]
(4) if she will introduce a moratorium on the use of neonicotinoids on plants which provide nectar and pollen; [51052]
(5) when Ministers in her Department last met the Advisory Committee on Pesticides; and what the outcome of that meeting was; [51056]
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(6) when she expects the Health and Safety Executive's Chemicals Regulation Directorate Advisory Committee on Pesticides to complete its review of the report by Buglife on the effects of neonicotinoid pesticides; and if she will publish the review upon completion; [51074]
(7) if she will (a) suspend existing outdoor approvals for the use of neonicotinoid pesticides and (b) commission a review of the use of systemic pesticides and sub-lethal effects on invertebrates. [51075]
Mr Paice: Neonicotinoid pesticides are already subject to restrictions made to reduce the potential risk they pose to bees. Neonicotinoid insecticides are authorised through the rigorous EU pesticides approval process. Products are authorised in the UK after a national risk assessment. The Government have regularly considered the available evidence in this area and I see no basis for further restrictions at this stage. The position will-be kept under review in the light of continuing scrutiny of new research and discussions with other regulatory authorities. The 2009 Buglife report was reviewed by the Chemicals Regulation Directorate (CRD) of the Health and Safety Executive for any new scientific information which might be of relevance for the pesticides risk assessment process, and CRD's assessment was considered by the independent Advisory Committee on Pesticides (ACP). Ministers receive advice from the ACP on pesticides issues but do not routinely meet the Committee. The CRD assessment and ACP comments have been published on the CRD website. The review highlighted a need for data on the impacts of neonicotinoid pesticides on overwintering of bees in the risk assessment process. This issue had already been identified by regulators and is being addressed through changes to the EU regulatory system. Some pesticide approval holders are already carrying out work to develop field data on overwintering effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on bees as part of the pesticides approval process. CRD has already assessed one such study, and for the crop/pesticide concerned this indicated that there are no effects on honey bees and honey bee survival.
The term 'colony collapse disorder (CCD)' has been used to describe high levels of abnormal colony losses in the USA. Although there have been some significant losses in the UK in recent years, there is no evidence to suggest that CCD is present. Indeed, there has been a significant reduction in the number of colonies that have been lost. In 2010, 5.8% of colonies inspected in England and Wales were found to be dead compared to 6.9% in 2009. Last year's losses were also the lowest level since 2001.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the levels of neonicotinoids in bodies of water; and with what regularity such levels are monitored. [51051]
Mr Paice:
The pesticides risk assessment considers the risk to groundwater and surface water for each product and use and the surface water assessment specifically looks at the risk to aquatic life. This assessment does not suggest that there should be a significant issue from neonicotinoid pesticides. That conclusion is not challenged by existing Environment Agency monitoring
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which tests for a range of pesticides in surface and ground water. This monitoring includes imidacloprid and clothianidin and has not detected any residues of these two neonicotinoids (although it would be unlikely to detect residues at the low levels expected). There does not appear to be a need for further targeted monitoring of neonicotinoid pesticides in water bodies.
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what contingency plans her Department has put in place to ensure that compliance with EU Council Directive 99/74/EC on the Welfare of Laying Hens does not put farms in England at a commercial disadvantage. [51045]
Mr Paice: I have repeatedly stated that we want to protect compliant producers from any competitive disadvantage of illegal production in other member states or indeed the UK. In a letter to the Commission in September last year and at a meeting with Commissioner Dalli in November, I strongly urged the Commission to put sufficient enforcement controls in place to protect compliant producers.
One of the options we have suggested to the Commission is for an intra- Community trade ban which would restrict the sale of eggs and egg products which continue to be produced from conventional cages after 2012 from being exported outside that member state's border.
I also raised my concerns on the lack of action by the Commission at the EFRA inquiry into the laying hen industry evidence session on 22 March, and stressed the need for additional measures to be put in place at an EU level to prevent market disturbance.
We welcome the efforts the UK laying hen industry has made to comply with the ban and I can assure you that the Government will continue to work closely with the Commission, other member states and the industry to find a practical enforcement solution.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2011, Official Report, column 807W, on public appointments, for what reasons the answer referred to a website address that is not operational; and how many (a) women and (b) men no longer hold appointments in public bodies sponsored by her Department as a result of decisions to merge, close or reorganise such bodies taken since her appointment. [51445]
Richard Benyon: The website address in the previous answer provides a link to “Public Bodies 2009”. This contains the latest published summary information on public appointments. In addition, I can confirm that since the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was appointed, the numbers of women and men no longer holding public appointments as a result of decisions to merge, close or reorganise bodies sponsored by her Department are as follows:
Commons Commissioners: Two men.
Sustainable Development Commission: Five women and seven men.
Royal Commission for Environmental Pollution: Five women and seven men.
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Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms are in place to aid local authorities in setting recycling targets which were formerly set by the regional spatial strategies. [50575]
Richard Benyon: Regional spatial strategies did not specifically provide a mechanism for supporting the setting of recycling targets for local authorities. Under the local government performance framework, for which 2010-11 was the last year, some local authorities chose to set recycling targets in negotiation with the relevant Government office as part of local area agreements.
The revised waste framework directive sets the UK a target of recycling 50% of waste from households by 2020. While this sets an overall ambition for the UK, the Government do not intend to pass this target on to local authorities on an individual basis. The current review of waste policies being conducted by the Government will set out the framework of support we want to give to local authorities to manage waste more sustainably. However, it is for local authorities to decide what aspirations on recycling are appropriate for their area depending on their wider waste management goals and individual circumstances.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if she will make an assessment of the contribution of shooting to (a) conservation and (b) the rural economy. [51066]
Mr Paice: DEFRA has no plans to assess the benefits of shooting to conservation or to the rural economy. A report, ‘The Economic and Environmental Impact of Sporting Shooting’, prepared by Public and Corporate Economic Consultants in 2006, found that two million hectares are actively managed for conservation as a result of shooting and that shooting is worth £1.6 billion to the UK economy. The report can be viewed at:
www.shootingfacts.co.uk
Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of legislation on the use of lead shot; and if she will have discussions with representatives of the shooting community on this issue. [47565]
Mr Paice: In 2008 DEFRA commissioned a project to provide an assessment of the level of compliance with the Environmental Protection (Restriction of the Use of Lead Shot) (England) Regulations 1999 (as amended). The report was produced by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust with some elements of the work completed by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation. The final report for the project was published in November 2010 and is available on the DEFRA website.
This report will be brought to the attention of the Lead Ammunition Group for its consideration. The Lead Ammunition Group is an independent strategic group convened by DEFRA and the Food Standards
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Agency which brings together relevant stakeholders and experts to advise Government on, among other issues, the key risks to wildlife from lead ammunition and the respective levels of those risks. It will also explore possible solutions to any significant risks.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions she has had with her EU counterparts on implementation of the EU directive prohibiting tethering at sow stalls. [50318]
Mr Paice: There have been no EU discussions at ministerial level as yet. However, the UK continues to make clear at European level that the UK industry is already fully compliant with the ban on sow stalls. We have also made it clear that we expect full compliance in other member states by 1 January 2013. The UK along with the rest of the EU banned the use of tethers in 2006.
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has had any meetings since September 2010 with representatives from (a) Tesco, (b) Sainsbury’s, (c) Asda, (d) Morrisons and (e) trade associations of which these companies are members. [52228]
Mr Paice: On 27 September 2010, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs met with Sainsbury’s as well as attending the Policy Issues Council of the Institute of Grocery Distribution which includes in its membership many of the large supermarkets. On 10 February she met with Tesco. On 8 March she met with the British Retail Consortium.
On 4 April she chaired a meeting with senior representatives of a number of the retailers at which Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons were represented.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what criteria she plans to adopt to measure the effectiveness of the operation of the presumption in favour of sustainable development in the planning system’ [50317]
(2) what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the definition of the sustainable development presumption to be introduced into the planning system. [50319]
Mr Paice: DEFRA is in continuing discussion with the Department for Communities and Local Government about the presumption in favour of sustainable development. The Government will publish a draft of the presumption in May 2011, alongside details of how we propose to integrate the presumption into national planning policy.
We will be considering how best to gauge the effectiveness of the presumption during the further work to develop the National Planning Policy Framework.
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Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the compatibility of her criteria for monitoring sustainable development across government with the statutory responsibilities of environmental protection placed on (a) the Environment Agency and (b) Natural England. [51043]
Mr Paice: None as yet, but we shall take such statutory responsibilities into consideration, alongside other relevant factors, as we develop criteria for monitoring the mainstreaming of sustainable development across Government.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many utility companies offer concessionary schemes for surface water drainage charges for community organisations; and how many community organisations are using such schemes. [50638]
Richard Benyon: Four water and sewerage companies charge for surface water drainage by reference to the impermeable surface area of the site being drained:
United Utilities;
Severn Trent Water;
Northumbrian Water; and
Yorkshire Water.
Two of these companies offer concessionary schemes for community organisations.
United Utilities has 3,314 customers on concessionary charges.
Severn Trent Water currently caps the surface water drainage charges for community premises and charges places of worship on the basis of rateable value, which in most cases is zero. Severn Trent does not know the number of customers that currently benefit from these charges. It will investigate this and assess the costs before consulting its customers on permanent concessions for these groups under the Flood and Water Management Act 2010.
Northumbrian Water started its concessionary scheme on 1 April 2011 and expects to accept 1,768 customers onto the scheme during this charging year.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to ensure co-ordination between communities on waste management. [50466]
Richard Benyon: Local authorities, which are responsible for the provision of waste management services, are best placed to make decisions about collection and disposal, taking into account the needs of their residents and local circumstances.
DEFRA encourages local authorities to share best practice on waste management, and to work together in partnership; this can help them make economies which enable them to provide better services.
Jack Dromey:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms are in place to aid local authorities in
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identifying shortfalls in waste treatment capacity which were formerly identified by regional spatial strategies. [50574]
Robert Neill: I have been asked to reply.
Regional strategies are part of the statutory ‘development plan’. When preparing waste plans, local planning authorities should have regard to national policy, including Planning Policy Statement 10: ‘Sustainable Waste Management’. Notwithstanding, the Government's abolition of regional strategies via the Localism Bill is a material consideration in planning decisions.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what mechanisms are in place to provide apportionment figures on the tonnages of municipal, commercial and industrial wastes to be planned for annually by each local authority which were formerly specified within the regional spatial strategies. [50576]
Robert Neill: I have been asked to reply.
Regional strategies are part of the statutory 'development plan'. When preparing waste plans, local planning authorities should have regard to Planning Policy Statement 10: Sustainable Waste Management, which requires them to allocate sites and areas suitable for new or enhanced waste management facilities to support the apportionment set out in the regional strategy. The Government's abolition of regional strategies via the Localism Bill is a material consideration in planning decisions.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she is taking to ensure sufficient investment in water resources in cases where local development frameworks do not refer to water and drainage infrastructure because they were formerly covered in the regional spatial strategies. [50364]
Richard Benyon: The Localism Bill will abolish Regional Strategies and introduce a Duty to Co-operate, which will require local planning authorities and public bodies to engage constructively and on an ongoing basis to prepare local plans.
In the spirit of partnership working we expect local planning authorities to collaborate with infrastructure providers from an early stage in the local planning process to ensure that they are actively involved in shaping proposals. Water companies are statutory consultees to local plans in the current system, and are able to feed in their views on local plan growth from a water infrastructure perspective. We would want this to continue in the future.
All water undertakers. in England produce statutory 25-year Water, Resources Management Plans (WRMPs) that identify how they will ensure a secure and sustainable supply of water. In developing these plans water undertakers will have access to information on growth from the local plans in their areas. The public consultation process for WRMPs provides a means by which water undertakers and planning authorities may validate forecast growth and future needs.
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Since October 2010 unitary and county councils have been given a new role as lead local flood authorities (LLFAs), and a duty under the Flood and Water Management Act to have local flood risk management strategies for their areas. We would expect these strategies to consider drainage for new developments, and for LLFAs to work with water undertakers and developers to ensure that arrangements are adequate and sustainable. The Local Government Association has recently published guidance to help LLFAs develop their strategies. We expect LLFAs will begin to publish their strategies in 2012 and there is a requirement that relevant authorities and the public should be consulted about them. LLFAs across England have also been provided with funding of £21 million for 2011-12, rising to £36 million in 2012-13, to undertake their new roles.
Mr Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the answer of 4 April 2011, Official Report, column 581W, on water charges: South West England, what options for additional Government spending to provide further support for water customers in the South West her Department is considering; if she will publish details of each option; what discussions she has had with Ofwat on such options; if she will make it her policy to limit the financial support offered; if she will assess the effect of the proposal on other water customers in England; whether she is considering similar schemes for other regions of England; what timetable she has set for the (a) introduction and (b) duration of the scheme; and whether water companies will be expected to contribute to the cost of the scheme. [52241]
Richard Benyon: The Government published their consultation on water affordability on 5 April. This an be accessed online at:
www.defra.gov.uk/consult/water-affordability-1104/
and copies are available in the Libraries of both Houses.
The consultation paper sets out options to assist all households in the South West (to reflect the unique circumstances of South West Water at the time of privatisation), and options to assist households with water affordability problems in the south-west and elsewhere, it takes account of advice prepared by Ofwat on tackling high water bills in the south-west.
The options set out in the consultation paper to assist household customers of South West Water will have no impact on other water companies, or on the water bills of other companies' customers. Additional support will be provided through public expenditure. The extent, magnitude and duration of that support will depend on practicality and affordability, and on the responses received to the consultation.
The Government will set out their policy proposals in their Water White Paper in the autumn.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects to publish the consultation on the Walker Review on household water metering and charging; and if she will make a statement. [52091]
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Richard Benyon: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 5 April 2011, Official Report, column 54WS.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether she has assessed the merits of encouraging water companies to offer cold water retrofits as part of the forthcoming Water White Paper; and if she will make a statement. [52092]
Richard Benyon: Water companies already offer retrofit measures as part of their statutory duty to promote the efficient use of water by their customers. Ofwat oversees the companies' obligations in this regard, and has also set them water efficiency targets, representing a significant increase in water efficiency activity.
The Government will set out their policy proposals around water efficiency in the forthcoming Water White Paper.
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to increase the level of choice between water companies for household customers. [51942]
Richard Benyon: The forthcoming Water White Paper will consider Professor Martin Cave’s 2009 recommendations to extend competition in the water sector.
Professor Cave thought that there would be very few benefits in extending choice of water supplier to household customers at this time but did not rule it out for the future.
Helen Jones: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the answer of 3 February 2011, Official Report, column 510W, on pay: staff, which actual compliance roles were used as comparators to determine the salary range for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority's new compliance officer. [45793]
Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
As Acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking which actual compliance roles were used as comparators to determine the salary range for IPSAs new compliance officer.
The Parliamentary Standards Act 2009, as amended by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, provided that there be a Compliance Officer for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority.
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We considered a range of vacancies being offered for Compliance Officer roles at the time we began the recruitment process in order to help us establish the range in which to advertise the salary. These vacancies were primarily in the financial sector. We did this was for indicative purposes only and, for this reason, did not consider it necessary to keep a record. These advertised salaries ranged between £70,000 and £120,000. We then sought advice from our recruitment consultants who recommended a salary range corroborating the range identified by our internal research. Having received this advice, we took the view that this range was too high (whilst taking into account the knowledge, experience and capabilities required for this statutory office) and advertised a lower rate equivalent to an IPSA Grade F position (pay band £60,000 to £73,000, full-time equivalent).
Mr Spellar: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2011, Official Report, column 2W, on departmental publications, what assessment the board has made of Mr Ken Olisa's remarks. [49475]
Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
As acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2011, Official Report, column 2W, on departmental publications, what assessment the board has made of Mr Ken Olisa's remarks.
The Board routinely assesses IPSA's presence in the media. Any substantive discussions on matters relating to the Board can be found in the Minutes of the Board which once agreed, in keeping with IPSA's policy on transparency, are posted on IPSA's website.
Laura Sandys: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the Speaker's Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, if he will request the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority to publish the highest amount claimed by an hon. Member for staff costs over the financial year 2010-11. [51619]
Mr Charles Walker: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.
As acting Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking IPSA to publish the highest amount claimed by an hon. Member for staff costs over the financial year 2010-11.
Figures for the financial year 2010-11 have not yet been finalised. We will be publishing details of all Members staffing costs in July and will write to you with this information at that time.
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what estimate he has made of the average number of hours he spends on his official duties per week (a) during Parliamentary recess periods and (b) when Parliament is sitting. [51657]
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The Deputy Prime Minister: I spend as much time as necessary to carry out in full my official duties both when Parliament is sitting and during recess periods.
Ian Murray: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Bradford East of 4 April 2011, Official Report, column 636W, on general elections: costs, if he will estimate the cost of holding a general election in which 50 per cent. of voters express a second and third preference, 25 per cent. of workers express only a second preference and 25 per cent. of voters express only one preference. [52166]
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51426]
Mr Paterson: 52 Officials in my Department are provided with mobile communication devices. In the year 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011, the Northern Ireland Office spent £13,957 on mobile telephones and data services.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on staff training in the last year for which figures are available. [51413]
Mr Paterson: Since 12 April 2010, my Department has spent £19,440 on staff training.
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish the report of Lord Carlile on his inquiry into the death of Kieran Doherty; and if he will make a statement. [51241]
Mr Paterson: Following the brutal murder of Kieran Doherty, I met members of his family. In light of the concerns they expressed to me, I invited Lord Carlile, as reviewer of the arrangements for handling national security-related matters in Northern Ireland, to meet them to discuss those concerns. Further, in view of allegations about the conduct of the Security Service, I asked Lord Carlile to review the case and to provide me with advice.
As the House will be aware, it has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on matters of this nature. I do not intend to depart from that practice or to publish Lord Carlile’s advice to me. With his permission, however, I am placing on the record his conclusions as set out in his letter to the hon. Member.
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“Over the past four months I have received the fullest co-operation with my inquiry. No material has been denied to me. I am satisfied that I have been able to deal on an evidence base with all issues arising.
My conclusions are clear. No inappropriate or improper action took place. Kieran Doherty’s cruel death was not in any respect a consequence of any misbehaviour or infraction by anybody directly or indirectly connected with the public service. Further, the Police Service of Northern Ireland have been able to carry out a full and unimpeded murder inquiry”.
I am grateful to Lord Carlile for the work he has undertaken and for his advice.
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps she is taking to ensure that the Welsh economy maintains a rate of growth similar to that in the rest of the UK; and if she will make a statement. [51447]
Mr David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales and I share the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about the Welsh economy, which has fallen further behind the rest of the UK since devolution in 1999.
The Budget and Plan for Growth are intended to create the right conditions for private sector growth across the UK including Wales. We have reduced corporation tax by 2%, cut regulations to save businesses £350 million a year and abolished the fuel duty escalator to benefit motorists and hauliers across Wales.
Beyond that, we are committed to working with the Welsh Assembly Government on issues such as delivering Enterprise Zones. Only by putting the Welsh business environment on the similar footing to the one we are seeking to create in England can we ensure that the Welsh economy does not fall even further behind the rest of the UK.
Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what steps she is taking to support and attract investment to (a) mechanical engineering, (b) metals, (c) minerals, (d) chemicals and (e) business services sectors of the Welsh economy; and if she will make a statement. [51446]
Mr David Jones: The Secretary of State for Wales and I are committed to attracting more inward investment to Wales across a range of sectors including those the hon. Gentleman highlights.
We have brokered two trilateral meetings between Lord Green the Trade Minister and the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to discuss collaborative working, particularly as UK Trade and Investment looks to refocus its efforts on inward investment. I am also a member of the Economic Affairs (Trade and Investment) Cabinet Sub Committee which will play a key role in boosting trade and investment in the UK, including Wales.
The Secretary of State for Wales has discussed with the First Minister the creation of Enterprise Zones in Wales that we would hope would replicate those we have already announced for England. These zones will
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offer a time-limited business rate exemption, high speed broadband, simplified planning processes and the reinvestment of future business rates in infrastructure. They are designed to attract new investment to places that need it the most and we hope that the Welsh Assembly Government will work with us to bring these benefits to Wales.
Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the cost to his Department is of operating the Government Indemnity Scheme in respect of the works of art held by the Government Art Collection (a) on display and (b) in storage. [51080]
Mr Vaizey: The Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS) applies only to loans in, and only those from non-national collections or private sources. Staff time spent administering this, and therefore the operating cost, is negligible. There has never been a claim on GIS for any work loaned to the Government Art Collection.
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether the funding for the arts introduced as a result of the Lottery Shares Order can be used to support existing projects. [52162]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: This Government's reforms to the national lottery mean that from 2012 around £50 million a year extra will go to the arts. Funding decisions are a matter for the individual lottery distributors to determine against their published criteria for lottery projects and funding programmes. All lottery distributors are mindful of the need to uphold the principle of additionality in relation to national lottery funding and to account for how this principle has been upheld in their annual reports, but funding can be allocated to existing organisations.
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will make an assessment of the effects of recent Arts Council funding decisions on arts organisations (a) in each region and (b) serving minority communities. [52161]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: Any decisions made by the Arts Council are done so on the basis of the much-valued arm’s length principle. Therefore it would be inappropriate for the Government to undermine the Arts Council's independence by interfering in their decision making process in any way.
However, when assessing applications for the new National Portfolio, Arts Council England worked to create the best mix of organisations in terms of size, type, art form, diversity, geographical spread and contribution to the goals set out in the 10-year strategy Achieving Great Art for Everyone.
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Arts Council England has undertaken an equality impact assessment (EIA), to identify the potential negative and positive impact on race, gender and disability that the decisions made within the national portfolio organisations funding programme may have. As part of the EIA, an action plan detailing a full programme of mitigation outlines how they will address the identified negative impact.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many ring-fenced grants provided by his Department were available for Brighton and Hove city council to claim in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2010-11; how much was available in such grants; how many such grants were made; and how much was awarded in such grants. [51845]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: The only ring-fenced grant that the Department oversaw, and that would have been available to Brighton and Hove city council, in the periods 2007-08 to 2010-11 was the free swimming scheme that ran from 2008-09 to 2010-11. The amount of grant paid out during this period was £89 million allocated between 261 participating local authorities.
Brighton and Hove city council received the following amounts in each year:
2008-09: £76,197.00
2009-10: £205,441.68
2010-11: £67,486.00.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many ring-fenced grants provided by his Department are available for Brighton and Hove city council to claim in 2011-12; how much is available in such grants; how many such grants have been made; and how much is to be awarded in such grants. [51850]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: From 2011-12 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has budgetary responsibility for private finance initiative (PFI) grants to local authorities for culture and sport schemes. Payments in earlier years were met by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG).
Brighton and Hove will receive a grant of £1.5 million in 2011-12 towards PFI costs of the Jubilee Library (Brighton New Central Library). This PFI scheme runs until 2028.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport who is to be responsible for the roll-out of high-speed broadband in (a) England, (b) Wales and (c) Scotland. [52157]
Mr Vaizey: Local government in England and the devolved Administrations will be the lead procuring authorities, with support from Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK), for the Government supported roll-out of superfast broadband in the UK.
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Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the proportion of households without broadband access which will receive high-speed broadband by the end of (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015. [52158]
Mr Vaizey: The Government have not set annual targets of households having superfast broadband, but has set a target of having the best superfast broadband in Europe by 2015 and made £530 million available to help deliver it. We will publish the ‘Best in Europe’ scoreboard later in 2011.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport by what mechanisms superfast broadband will be supplied to enterprise zones. [50734]
Mr Vaizey [holding answer 1 April 2011]: The Government are in discussion with Local Enterprise Partnerships about the first wave of Enterprise Zones. As specific locations for Enterprise Zones are put forward, we will consider the broadband networks available in these areas and then decide the most appropriate form of public support for market led roll-out This is likely to be through provision of the most supportive planning environment and, if necessary, public funding.
Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what proportion of the funding allocated to the expansion of broadband provision announced in the comprehensive spending review he estimates will be spent in (a) Poole constituency and (b) the south-west. [50493]
John Penrose: No specific estimates of funding allocations for projects in Poole constituency, the south-west or any other constituency have been made. My officials continue to work closely with county councils on plans to support broadband roll-out.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of his Department since his appointment. [52001]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: There have been no ministerial directions issued to the accounting offices of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport since the appointment of the current ministerial team.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many of his Department's staff have taken early retirement in each of the last five years; and what the cost to his Department was in each such year. [50838]
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John Penrose: The total number of staff who have taken early retirement in each of the last five financial years, and the cost to the Department, are shown in the table.
| Financial year | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
For the financial year 2010-11, further early retirement offers have been made to members of staff, however final payments have not been made and are therefore not included in the table.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51527]
John Penrose: The Department has not set any targets for job reduction. It has, however, committed to a 50% reduction in its administration budget by 31 March 2015, which includes staffing costs. The average reduction in administration budgets in the Department and its arm’s lengths bodies over the comprehensive spending period is 41%.
The Department regularly monitors its pay bill and sets future actions through our Workforce Planning Committee. The Department is currently undertaking a voluntary redundancy exercise to reduce headcount and achieve the necessary savings.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2011, Official Report, columns 764-5W, on departmental public appointments, how many (a) women and (b) men no longer serve on public bodies sponsored by his Department because of decisions to close, merge or reorganise such bodies taken since his appointment. [51438]
John Penrose: Due to decisions to close, merge or reorganise public bodies 10 men and 10 women no longer serve on the boards of public bodies sponsored by the Department.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department has spent on ministerial travel by (a) ministerial car, (b) train, (c) bus, (d) commercial aircraft and (e) private aircraft since May 2010. [50222]
John Penrose: The following amounts have been accounted for by the Department for ministerial travel since May 2010:
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(a) DCMS Ministers do not have the use of individual ministerial cars. Since May, £6,198.90 has been spent on cars booked for current Ministers from the Government Car and Despatch Agency pool.
(b) £3,028.20 on rail travel (including Eurostar).
(c) Bus journeys would be taken using an Oyster card and the costs cannot therefore be separately identified from London underground travel.
(d) £9,672.45 on commercial air travel.
(e) No money has been spent by the Department on travel by private aircraft.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what the staff vacancy rate in his Department was in 2010-11; and what vacancy rate has been assumed in his Department’s budget for 2011-12. [51393]
John Penrose: Throughout 2010-11 there were 59 advertisements for posts within the Department. The vast majority of these posts have been filled either by staff already within the Department or by civil servants loaned from other Departments, in large part to cover the short-term staffing needs of the Government Olympic Executive (GOE). Six fixed term contractors have also been appointed over that period.
During 2011-12, GOE will see up to 50 vacancies being created for new posts to ensure the Department delivers the Government’s commitment on London 2012. GOE’s current work force of 110 full-time employees (FTE) is scheduled to increase to 160 by the end of Q1 2012.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in the last year for which figures are available. [51401]
John Penrose: The amount spent by the Department on recruitment agency fees, outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff, and staff training in 2010-11 can be found in the following table:
| Payment type | £ |
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport when he expects to make a decision on the future of the Tote. [51908]
Mr Jeremy Hunt: The Government hope to conclude the final stages of the process for resolving the future of the Tote and to announce the outcome later in the spring in line with the timetable set by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Budget 2011.
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Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will investigate the effects on small business of the level of access supermarkets have to national lottery terminals from Camelot. [51886]
John Penrose: The selection of national lottery retailers is, rightly, a commercial matter for Camelot, as it is incentivised to place the terminals where they will generate the most sales and therefore revenue for good causes. Camelot is required to apply clear criteria when selecting retailers and takes into account factors such as geographical spread to ensure access. Camelot’s Stakeholder report for 2010 states that the majority of retail outlets are independent, with approximately a 60%-40% split in favour of independents.
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what (a) discussions he has had and (b) (i) representations and (ii) advice he received on the legality of a Premier League football club taking occupancy of the Olympic Stadium; and if he will publish each item of correspondence and advice he has received on this issue. [50878]
Hugh Robertson: The ongoing process to dispose of the Olympic Stadium, being conducted by the Olympic Park Legacy Company, is currently the subject of a legal dispute and consequently it is not appropriate to comment.
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has had (a) discussions and (b) correspondence with Newham council on the long-term use of the Olympic Stadium and the effects of such use on local sports and athletics clubs in the local area. [50879]
Hugh Robertson: Neither the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport nor I have had such discussions or correspondence with Newham council.
Conor Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport (1) if he will (a) prepare and (b) publish an impact assessment on the effects on the local area of a Premier League football club taking ownership and residence of the Olympic Stadium; [50880]
(2) whether he has undertaken an investigation into the effects on East London sports clubs of the Olympic Stadium being occupied by a Premier League football club. [50881]
Hugh Robertson: The Department has no plans to undertake an assessment or investigation of these matters. Consideration of any relevant impacts resulting from a Premier League football club moving in to the Olympic Stadium form part of the ongoing process to dispose of the Stadium being conducted by the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
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John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether domestic cleaning contracts for the occupied royal palaces are paid for from the grants in aid paid to the monarchy for upkeep of occupied royal palaces. [51474]
John Penrose [holding answer 5 April 2011]: The grant in aid paid by the Department for the upkeep of the occupied royal palaces in England includes the cost of cleaning the offices occupied by property services, fire health and safety, gardeners and postal services staff. The services are provided under a contract which was awarded following a competitive tender in October 2009. Other cleaning costs are allocated according to occupancy so that the civil list, the privy purse and the royal collection each meet an appropriate share of the total cleaning contract costs.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 1 March 2011, Official Report, column 424W, on the smart electricity grid, how the market will establish the communications system that will best serve the needs of the electricity system if spectrum is not made available. [51262]
Mr Vaizey: Government policy is that radio spectrum should be acquired through the market. To date, we have seen no evidence for intervention, but in the event of market failure it is open to the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to make a case for assignment.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2011, Official Report, column 537W, on the smart electricity grid and the answer of 28 February 2011, Official Report, columns 289-90W, on business: electricity, whether his Department plans to discuss (a) spectrum and (b) smart meters with the Department for Energy and Climate Change as part of the monitoring process. [51263]
Mr Vaizey: My officials are engaged with the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) on a regular basis about smart meters. DECC is fully aware of policy in regard to the allocation of radio spectrum.
Heather Wheeler: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will meet representatives of the Sport and Recreation Alliance to discuss the implications of his Department's review of the regulatory burdens on sports clubs. [51210]
Hugh Robertson: I met representatives of Sport and Recreation Alliance in March to discuss this review.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport if he will bring forward a strategic plan for water-related sport and recreation in the east midlands. [50502]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 39W
Hugh Robertson: The Environment Agency is currently working with the university of Brighton to develop 'Enjoying Water in the Midlands'—a plan for the region which will set out where new or improved water-related sport and recreation opportunities can best be placed to deliver the greatest benefits to the region and the people who live there.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effects of the National Sports Foundation on the funding available for grass-roots sports. [50599]
Hugh Robertson: The National Sports Foundation (NSF) raised an extra £38.6 million of commercial funding for grassroots sport between April 2006 and March 2009. Funding into grassroots sport has been maintained since the closure of NSF. Sport England also match funds individual projects with commercial funding up to £100,000 through the Sportsmatch programme.
Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what financial assistance his Department provided to grass-roots sporting organisations in (a) Poole constituency and (b) the South West in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [50492]
Hugh Robertson: Sport England advise that in the current financial year up to 31 December 2010 no grants were awarded to the Poole constituency. The South West region was awarded £2,722,533 of Exchequer funding and £6,694,329 of National Lottery funding in the same period.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent steps his Department has taken to preserve Stonehenge. [52181]
John Penrose: On 4 April 2011, the Government announced their support for a funding package which mixes private philanthropy, lottery money and commercial funding to improve the visitor experience at Stonehenge. This Department announced that English Heritage will have access to £2 million of its historic reserves raised from philanthropic sources and the Department for Transport agreed funding of around £3.5 million for improvements to Highways Agency roads close to Stonehenge, subject to the completion of statutory processes and confirmed go-ahead of the Stonehenge project.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how much has been spent from the public purse on Stonehenge in each of the last five years. [52182]
John Penrose:
As set out in the table, English Heritage has supplied the cost to the public purse of running Stonehenge in each of the past five years balanced
26 Apr 2011 : Column 40W
against income generated from visitors. Expenditure on the Stonehenge Environmental Improvements Project over the last three years is also shown.
|
|
Cost of running Stonehenge site (£) (1) | Earned income (£) (1) | Spend on environmental improvements project (£) |
| (1) Income and expenditure figures do not include leased maintenance costs or rents receivable related to renting the Stonehenge cottages (previously custodian accommodation) which are not part of the normal visitor operation at the site. (2) Includes £1,000,000 grant from SW Regional Development Agency. | |||
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 20 December 2010, Official Report, column 1057W, on Taekwondo, what his most recent assessment is when mediation may take place between UK Sport and Sport England on Taekwondo; and for what reasons the timescale for such mediation has been deferred. [51795]
Hugh Robertson: The parties to the mediation in Taekwondo are the British Taekwondo Control Board and the United Kingdom Taekwondo Development Council. The mediation is being led by an independent mediator and managed by Sport Resolutions (UK), with participation from UK Sport and Sport England when and where appropriate. The timescale is dictated by the availability of the parties concerned: an initial mediation session was held in February and follow-up communications have continued with a view to a further mediation session at a workable date for all parties and participants, potentially in May.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, what estimate he has made of the annual loss in betting taxation which can be attributed to companies which advertise and transact in Britain basing their remote operations offshore. [52112]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
General betting duty typically raises around £300 million to £400 million per annum. Since only UK-based bookmakers are liable for betting duty, there is no loss from overseas bookmakers that advertise and transact in the UK. However, HMRC does not record yield from remote betting separately from general betting duty, so there is no formal estimate of the impact on receipts in this area.
Damian Hinds: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the (a) direct and (b) prospective financial effects on London's hospitality and tourism businesses of the disturbances of 26 March 2011. [51223]
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John Penrose: The financial effect on business resulting from the disturbances on 26 March 2011 is difficult to quantify. The Department has not yet estimated the impact on the tourism and hospitality industry in London.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether he has made an estimate of the likely increase in tourist revenue arising from the wedding of HRH Prince William and Catherine Middleton. [52185]
John Penrose: The royal wedding is one of a series of major events, including Her Majesty’s diamond jubilee and the London 2012 Olympics, that are being used to showcase Britain as part of VisitBritain’s new four-year international marketing campaign. We have not attempted to separate out the tourism impact of each event individually, but we intend to capitalise on the huge tourism opportunity they will create by constructing a marketing fund of more than £100 million, with major companies already pledging support to help match the £50 million of public money the Government have committed through VisitBritain. The marketing campaign is aiming to deliver four million extra visitors to the UK over the four years, £2 billion in additional visitor spending and 50,000 new jobs across the country.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the implementation in Scotland of his proposals for Independent Savings Accounts for looked after children. [50828]
David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland has regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a wide range of issues. The Government published draft regulations of a new tax-advantaged savings account or “Junior ISAs”. Around 6 million children across the United Kingdom are expected to be eligible for Junior ISAs, with a further 800,000 children becoming eligible each year. On 22 March, the Chancellor of the Exchequer made clear that the Government will work with charities and interested parties to develop detailed proposals funded by the Government, so that junior ISAs can best support looked-after children, who face particular challenges.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51427]
David Mundell: The Scotland Office currently has 27 officials who have been provided with mobile communication devices. £12,757 was spent by the Department in the year 2009-10.
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This figure includes the cost of equipment, call charges, line rental and service charges.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on staff training in the last year for which figures are available. [51412]
David Mundell: The Scotland Office encourages all staff to undertake learning and development activities. The majority of opportunities are provided through the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice; but where the training need is still not available within central Government, external training courses may be considered. £25,297 was spent on staff training in the year 2009-10.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on establishing enterprise zones in Scotland. [50894]
David Mundell: The Secretary of State for Scotland has regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on a wide range of issues. The Government will introduce 21 new enterprise zones across the Local Enterprise Partnerships in England to encourage new investment. Provision has been made available, through Barnett consequentials as part of the Budget 2011, to enable the Scottish Government to introduce a similar policy if it wishes. The Government will work with the Scottish Government to explore opportunities for employing the new Enterprise Zone model across the United Kingdom.
Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings he has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on the Green Investment Bank since May 2010; and on what date each such meeting took place. [52040]
Michael Moore: Since May 2010, I have had a wide range of formal and informal meetings, including conversations with ministerial and Cabinet colleagues and external stakeholders, on the Green Investment Bank.
Most recently, on 30 March I attended the Westminster launch of Edinburgh's bid to host the Green Investment Bank, where I received the city's business case and met representatives of the cross-sector bid consortium; and on 5 April I discussed Edinburgh's bid, and broader progress towards establishing the bank, with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills. We agreed that senior officials would meet representatives of the financial services sector in Edinburgh to discuss the issues.
I will continue to engage closely on these issues with my colleagues in Government, the financial services and energy sectors in Scotland and other key stakeholders until final decisions are made.
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Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on setting the level of the fourth carbon budget. [51826]
Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) have regular discussions on a variety of topics.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to avoid the overlap of policy instruments in respect of electricity market reform and a carbon price floor. [51934]
Charles Hendry: The carbon price floor was one of the package of proposed measures consulted on in the electricity market reform (EMR) consultation in December 2010, and has since been announced in the 23 March Budget. A key criteria for the development of the market reform package is coherence. The carbon price floor complements both options for a feed-in-tariff outlined in the EMR consultation.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish the timetable for the four carbon capture and storage demonstration projects. [51935]
Charles Hendry: Subject to the successful conclusion of negotiations we expect the first supported CCS demonstration project to complete construction in 2014-15.
Our aim is for all three of the additional CCS projects to be operational by 2018-20. We expect to commence the process for their selection later this year, when a more detailed timetable will be published.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much he plans to contribute from the public purse to the four carbon capture and storage demonstration projects. [51936]
Charles Hendry: In last year's spending review the Government committed up to £1 billion to support the capital costs of the first carbon capture and storage demonstration project and is committed to continuing public sector investment in a total of four projects.
Decisions on the exact funding requirements for further demonstration projects will be taken once the details of those demonstration projects are known. The Government intends to launch the process to identify the further three projects in the CCS demonstration programme later this year.
Mr Offord:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the likely effects of proposals announced
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in the 2011 Budget to increase the climate change levy discount for energy intensive businesses exposed to international competition. [51113]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
An assessment of the impacts of the proposal was included in the Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the Budget. This is available online at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6125.pdf
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what contingency plans his Department has made should the assumptions underpinning the scenarios modelled for the Contracts for Difference prove to be invalid. [50618]
Gregory Barker: A range of sensitivities were tested in the modelling for the electricity market reform consultation, in order to identify how well the proposed mechanisms performed under different fossil fuel and carbon price assumptions, as well as higher than expected electricity demand and different technology costs.
Further work is being undertaken and will be published with the electricity market reform White Paper, which will set out final policy proposals.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of his Department since his appointment. [51998]
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what arrangements his Department has with the Government wine cellar for the provision of alcoholic drinks; and how much his Department has spent on purchases from the Government wine cellar since his appointment. [52348]
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51525]
Gregory Barker: The Government have not set targets for a reduction in the number of posts in the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Civil Nuclear Police Authority, the Committee on Climate Change, and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
The Coal Authority plans to reduce its headcount from 165 to 134 during the next 24 months.
Workforce implications of the spending review settlement will depend on internal budget allocations and subsequent management decisions.
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Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many staff from which organisations have been seconded to his Department to work on electricity market reform. [51622]
Gregory Barker: We have seconded seven experts to work on the electricity market reform programme, from the following organisations:
Ofgem
Elexon
Scottish Government
Deloitte
Bain
Bright Futures consultancy
Cambridge university.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what make and model of car from the Government Car Service is allocated to each (a) Minister and (b) senior official of his Department; and how much his Department has spent on overtime payments for drivers of ministerial cars in the latest period for which figures are available. [52394]
Gregory Barker: No Minister or Senior Official within the Department has a car allocated to them by the Government Car Service.
Luciana Berger:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether (a) he and (b) any Minister or special adviser in his Department has
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stayed overnight in the course of official duties at (i) Dorneywood, (ii) Chevening, (iii) Hillsborough Castle and (iv) Chequers since his appointment. [52346]
Dr Thérèse Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the average number of hours he spends on his official duties per week (a) during parliamentary recess periods and (b) when Parliament is sitting. [51658]
Gregory Barker: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) ensures he balances appropriately his parliamentary, constituency and official duties both during and outside parliamentary recess periods.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) job title and (b) role is of each person working in his Department seconded from another company or institution; in each case (i) what the name is of the seconding organisation, (ii) what the length of secondment is and (iii) who is responsible for meeting the salary costs of the secondee; and whether any secondee to his Department has been involved in the recruitment of any other secondees since his appointment. [52266]
Gregory Barker: The response is set out in the following table:
| Job title | Role | Seconding organisation | Length of secondment | Salary costs met by | Been involved in recruitment |
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26 Apr 2011 : Column 48W
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his policy is on investment in smart grid construction with incorporated electric vehicle technology in small towns and rural communities. [51732]
Charles Hendry: The Office of Low Emission Vehicles have awarded funding to eight pilot projects for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure through their Plugged in Places programme. We are ensuring the electricity grid can react to this new infrastructure through Ofgem’s Low Carbon Networks Fund, two of the winning projects from this fund will work closely with two of the “Plugged-In- Places” projects to learn lessons from this additional infrastructure.
The lessons learned from these projects will be used to inform development throughout the UK.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what progress his Department is making on discussions on the EU single market in energy and the establishment of a single European energy grid. [51733]
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Charles Hendry: The Third Package of Energy Market Liberalisation, which all member states were required to implement by 3 March 2011, provides much of the legal framework needed to create a single EU energy market. It contains a range of provisions designed to facilitate cross-border trading and promote greater integration of national markets, including a requirement on EU system operators to publish 10-year network development plans to identify where grid reinforcements are needed across the EU. Furthermore, the European Commission will be proposing legislation on energy infrastructure in the autumn which will include mechanisms for selecting the infrastructure projects which will be necessary for the EU to meet the low-carbon and energy security challenges over the coming decades (“projects of European interest”). It will also seek to tackle any remaining barriers to infrastructure investment, particularly as regards finance and planning.
The UK Government, together with nine other countries, are helping to address this infrastructure challenge through the North Seas Offshore Grid Initiative. This initiative is considering how we might better coordinate offshore grid development in the North, Irish and Baltic seas and tackle any planning, market, regulatory and technical barriers. The experience gained from this initiative should also be helpful for other large-scale cross-border infrastructure projects which will be needed across the EU.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he plans to take to co-ordinate the Green Deal with the national roll-out of smart meters. [51827]
Gregory Barker: We are already working to ensure that we make the most of the potential synergies between the Green Deal and the smart meter roll out, particularly around awareness raising on energy efficiency. We are committed to doing this in a way that makes sure those companies involved in the roll-out do not gain any extra market advantage in relation to the Green Deal.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in the last year for which figures are available. [51398]
Gregory Barker: As 2010-11 accounts are not yet finalised, the last published figures available are for 2009-10. However, during 2009-10, recruitment fees were not recorded separately from other recruitment related expenditure. There would be a disproportionate cost involved in separating this information.
The recruitment costs incurred during 2010-11 currently total £79,000, however, year-end accounts have not yet been finalised and this figure may change.
The Department has not paid any outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff.
In 2009-10 £609,512.09 was spent on staff training.
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Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department is taking to engage with the World Bank's energy strategy review. [51151]
Charles Hendry: I understand that the Department for International Development (DFID) has been in regular contact with the World Bank to feed in UK views on the energy strategy review. Officials in DECC and DFID meet regularly to discuss the UK position on the review as it progresses.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he last discussed the World Bank's energy strategy review with the Secretary of State for International Development; and what the outcome of the discussion was. [51152]
Charles Hendry: The Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change meets with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on a regular basis and a variety of relevant matters are discussed. Although they have not met specifically to discuss the World Bank energy strategy review, officials from both Departments meet regularly and discuss the review as it progresses. The Secretary of State is in contact with officials on the key issues relating to this process.
DFID officials have also been in regular contact with the World Bank to feed in UK views as the review progresses. They have emphasised the need for the World Bank to take full account of all the relevant issues concerning use of renewable energy versus fossil fuels in developing countries, and to pay better consideration to the vulnerability of natural resources and energy assets in developing countries. The UK has also emphasised the importance of strengthening the World Bank's role in supporting developing country planning capacity for low carbon, climate resilient growth.
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will introduce mechanisms to reduce the potential for large energy companies to benefit disproportionately from his Department’s mechanism for funding energy programmes. [50626]
Charles Hendry: The Department has a number of mechanisms for supporting energy programmes. These include feed-in tariffs for small-scale low carbon electricity, the renewable heat incentive, the renewables obligation, the CRC energy efficiency scheme and others. The Electricity Market Reform programme is currently considering the role of additional mechanisms in the electricity sector.
The Department always seeks to ensure that firms are not able to benefit disproportionately from the design of these schemes and, where necessary, reviews the design of policies to ensure there is effective competition between firms and that consumers and taxpayers are receiving a fair deal.
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Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish the (a) terms of reference, (b) contracts and (c) research findings of the work being conducted for his Department on consumer demand for the green deal by (i) Element Energy Ltd and Cambridge Architectural Ltd and (ii) Gfk NOP. [51918]
Gregory Barker: In accordance with the Cabinet Office’s agenda for transparency, the terms and reference and contracts for both pieces of research will be available on Contract Finder on the Business Link website, see:
http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/bdotg/action/detail?itemId=1086600691&type=PIP
Findings from the work will be available in autumn 2011 in DECC’s consultation paper on the Green Deal and impact assessments.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department is providing funding to the Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries programme. [51985]
Gregory Barker: The UK has committed £300 million for reducing deforestation in developing countries for the fast start period (2010-12). This is 20% of our £1.5 billion fast start commitment.
For the next four years (i.e. the spending review period), the UK has allocated £2.9 billion for international climate finance. This includes full funding of our remaining fast start commitment, and will include a further allocation for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+). Further decisions on programming this finance will be taken later this year.
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of people in St Albans constituency were living in fuel poverty in each of the last five years. [52119]
Gregory Barker: Fuel poverty is measured at a household rather than individual level. Data is available for the year 2006 and 2008, and these are shown in the following table.
|
|
Number of households in fuel poverty (1) | Proportion of households in fuel poverty (%) |
| (1) To nearest 100. | ||
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether an additional assessment of the costs of nuclear waste management and spent fuel will take place following the problems encountered with spent fuel in Fukushima, Japan. [52174]
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Charles Hendry: The Secretary of State has asked the UK Chief Nuclear Inspector, Dr Mike Weightman, to provide a report to the Government on the implications of the unprecedented events in Japan and the lessons to be learned for the UK nuclear industry. He has asked for an interim report by mid-May 2011 and a final report within six months. The Government will consider what further action needs to be taken in light of Dr Weightman's findings.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment has been made of the likelihood of a nuclear accident occuring which entails costs of greater than £1 billion. [52175]
Charles Hendry: The UK has a robust and transparent regulatory regime for protecting people and society from the hazards of the nuclear industry that is overseen by an independent nuclear safety operator. This regime ensures that risks of nuclear accidents are minimised. Under that regime, nuclear operators must satisfy the nuclear regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR), that they have adequate engineering and administrative measures in place to ensure this—this is largely achieved via a written safety case. Safety cases must include assessments of the likelihood of nuclear accidents and measures to mitigate them. They provide the basis for ONR giving permissions for nuclear activities at sites. The likelihood of a nuclear accident at a nuclear site with costs greater than £l billion, based on the assessment of safety cases by the ONR, is estimated at less than 1 in 10,000 years.
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which nuclear power stations in the UK rely on emergency diesel generators to cool the reactor in the event of a power failure; how often these generators are tested under full emergency conditions; how many tests have been (a) passed and (b) failed in the last 10 years; what further emergency power systems are attached to each such power station; and if he will make a statement. [52307]
Charles Hendry: There are 10 operating nuclear power stations in the United Kingdom that use diesel generators or gas turbines to supply back-up power to ensure adequate cooling of the reactor in the event of a national grid power failure to the site. In addition, each station has secondary back-up systems to ensure that, should a primary back-up system fail, sufficient capacity would continue to be available to ensure adequate levels of cooling. The 10 stations are shown in the following table:
| Station and location | Operated by | Type of power back-up system |
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It is not possible to test these back-up systems under ‘full emergency conditions’ because this would require a disconnection of the site from the national grid. However, it is a requirement of the nuclear installations licensing regime that each operating power station must carry out routine tests of its systems at regular intervals. Those intervals vary from weekly to three monthly tests, depending on the age and design of the back-up system. While occasional faults have occurred in the period of the last 10 years, adequate power supplies have been maintained at all 10 operating stations to secure the availability of sufficient cooling for the reactors.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the (a) timetable and (b) expected outputs are of the review of the windfall to operators of existing nuclear power plants as a result of proposals for carbon price support announced on 24 March 2011. [52153]
Charles Hendry: The Government keep all tax policy under review as part of the Budget process. The carbon price floor does not begin until April 2013.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what mechanism has been put in place to ensure that the maximum price cap for the waste transfer price of nuclear waste does not result in transfer of cost to the public purse. [52154]
Charles Hendry: The consultation on an updated waste transfer pricing methodology for the disposal of higher activity waste from new nuclear power stations closed on 8 March and the Government are now considering the responses received.
The consultation set out that the cap on the level of the waste transfer price will reflect the Government's current analysis of risk and uncertainty and will be set at a level where the Government have a very high level of confidence that actual costs will be lower than the cap. The consultation recognised that, in setting a cap, the small residual risk that actual cost might exceed the cap will lie with the Government. Hence in return for setting a cap the Government will charge the operator an appropriate risk fee.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will publish in full each agreement between industry and the Government on waste transfer pricing in respect of the costs of nuclear waste and spent fuel management. [52155]
Charles Hendry: This is an issue that has been raised in responses to the recent consultation on an updated waste transfer pricing methodology. We will set out the Government's intentions in the forthcoming Government response to this consultation.
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Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what information will be publicly available in respect of contracts awarded under contract for difference arrangements under his proposal for energy market reform. [52176]
Charles Hendry: Further details on the Government’s approach to implementing the contract for difference (CfD) and the rest of the energy market reform (EMR) package will be set out in the White Paper this year and in the subsequent legislation.
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who will bear the cost of construction overruns for nuclear power stations constructed under contract for difference arrangements under his proposals for energy market reform. [52177]
Charles Hendry: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State made a written statement to Parliament on 18 October 2010 setting out the Government’s policy that there will be no public subsidy for new nuclear power. It will be for the private sector to fund, construct and operate any new nuclear power stations and cover the full costs of decommissioning and their full share of waste management costs.
Contracts for difference are one potential option being considered through electricity market reform to facilitate investment in all forms of low-carbon generation. A White Paper on Electricity Market Reform will be published this summer.
Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to ensure there will be no public subsidy for the nuclear industry as a consequence of any changes to funded decommissioning programmes. [52306]
Charles Hendry: Under the Energy Act 2008, as part of gaining approval to build a new nuclear power station, operators will be required to submit to the Secretary of State a Funded Decommissioning Programme (FDP) for approval. Operators will be required to demonstrate in the FDP that they have secure financing arrangements in place to pay for the full costs of decommissioning and their full share of waste management and waste disposal costs, without recourse to the taxpayer. This is in line with the Government's policy that there will be no public subsidy for new nuclear power.
The Act makes provisions for FDPs to be modified over time. The Secretary of State's powers under the Act in relation to the approval of modifications to an approved FDP must be exercised with the aim of ensuring that prudent provision is made for the liabilities covered by the FDP. A change which results in the FDP not making prudent provision for liabilities will not be approved by the Secretary of State.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate and Change if he will (a) make and (b) publish an assessment of the potential effect of changes to the North Sea oil taxation regime on (i) employment in the oil and gas related sectors, (ii) investment in drilling and exploration and (iii) UK energy security (A) in the UK and (B) on the UK continental shelf. [51940]
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Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
An assessment of the impacts of the changes to the North Sea oil taxation regime announced in Budget 2011 is given in HMRC’s Tax Impact and Information Note published alongside the Budget. This is available online at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6133.htm.
Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received from recipients of feed-in tariff payments on the frequency of payments made under the scheme. [52193]
Gregory Barker: DECC has had one representation from an electricity supplier company regarding the frequency of feed-in tariffs (FITs) payments. This will be considered as part of the comprehensive review of the FITs scheme.
Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will commission research on the potential relationship between the frequency of feed-in tariff payments and the sustainability of debt repayments made by recipients on loans taken out to finance microgeneration projects under the feed-in tariff scheme. [52194]
Gregory Barker: The Department has not conducted research into this particular aspect of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) scheme. The legislation requires payments to be made at least quarterly but suppliers can choose to make payments more frequently. All aspects of FITs, including administration, will be considered as part of the comprehensive review currently under way.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to The Plan for Growth, page 82, what plans his Department has to consult on a cap for the cost to the consumer of renewable financial incentives. [52404]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
HM Treasury Ministers are responsible for decisions on tax rates and the level of spending. The Government do not routinely consult on these matters. The 2010 spending review set an overall cap for DECC’s tax and spending through policies that entail levy-funded spending. This cap will be managed through a new control framework, as announced at the Budget.
DECC will be responsible for managing their levy-funded spending policies such that they remain within the cap. When making changes to these policies, DECC will follow all required procedures such as statutory consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (1) if he will assess the capacity of Ofgem to administer monthly feed-in tariff payments; [52407]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the effect on voluntary feed-in tariff (FIT) licensees of making FIT payments quarterly. [52408]
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Gregory Barker: The Feed-in Tariffs (FITs) scheme is currently under review. All aspects of the scheme will be considered as part of the review, including the administration of the scheme.
Under the FITs scheme, the obligation is on electricity suppliers to make FITs payments. Section 35 (3.2) (3.2.5) of the Modifications to the Standard Conditions of Electricity Supply Licences states that a FITs Supplier must “make FIT payments no less than quarterly, except insofar as otherwise agreed in the Statement of FITs Terms.”
However the levelisation process is undertaken by Ofgem on a quarterly basis. Ofgem is currently reviewing responses to a recently concluded consultation on guidance for suppliers which included a question in relation to change in frequency of the levelisation process.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made of the effects of making feed-in tariff payments quarterly on the ability of consumers to make monthly finance payments to cover the upfront cost of microgeneration projects. [52409]
Gregory Barker: No assessment has been made on the effects of making quarterly feed-in tariffs (FITs) payments on the ability of consumers to make monthly finance payments.
The comprehensive review of the scheme is now underway and will consider all aspects of the scheme including the administration process.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reason Ofgem makes feed-in tariff payments on a quarterly rather a monthly basis. [52410]
Gregory Barker: Ofgem does not make feed-in tariffs (FITs) payments; this obligation is on the electricity suppliers. In deciding on the frequency with which levelisation is carried out, a balance has to be struck between the cost of administering the scheme and the benefits of a frequent levelisation process.
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when his Department expects to announce the details of the renewable heat premium payment scheme. [51153]
Gregory Barker: As we announced on 10 March, we plan to publish details of the renewable heat premium payment scheme in May this year.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether his Department is providing funding to Kew Gardens' Millennium Seed Bank. [52165]
Gregory Barker: No, DECC is not providing funding to Kew Garden's Millennium Seed Bank. I would direct the right hon. Member to DEFRA, who have responsibility for funding Royal Kew Gardens.
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Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will bring forward measures to mitigate the effect on energy-intensive users of the carbon price floor announced in the 2011 Budget. [51931]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
Budget 2011 announced a package of supporting measures to mitigate the impact of the carbon price floor on energy-intensive industries:
not introducing the carbon capture and storage levy so average business electricity bills will be 2% lower from 2015 and 3% lower in 2020 than they otherwise would have been;
a cap on the cost of policies funded through energy bills;
extension of the climate change levy discount on electricity for participants in the Climate Change Agreements scheme to 2023 arid an increase in the electricity discount from 65% to 80% from April 2013 so electricity bills will be on average 1% lower; and
a further 1% reduction in corporation tax to 26% from 1 April 2011. By 2014, it will be reduced to 23%.
The cumulative impacts of climate change and energy policies are also being considered as part of the Energy Intensive Industry Strategy produced by the Department of Energy and Climate Change and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. This strategy will identify recommendations to maximise abatement while ensuring the future competitiveness of UK energy-intensive business.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will (a) make and (b) publish an assessment of the likelihood of carbon leakage to other EU member states as a result of the carbon price floor announced in the 2011 Budget. [51932]
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will (a) make and (b) publish an assessment of the potential effect on employment in each sector of the introduction of the carbon price floor announced in the 2011 Budget. [51933]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
An assessment of the impacts of the carbon price floor is given in HMRC’s Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the Budget. This is available online at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6111.pdf.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will (a) make and (b) publish an assessment of the potential effect on (i) household and (ii) general taxation of funding from the public purse to the four carbon capture and storage demonstration projects announced in the 2011 Budget. [51939]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
In last year’s spending review, the Government committed up to £1 billion to support the capital costs of the first demonstration project. The Government do not publish the effects of individual spending allocation decisions on households or the “public purse”, but have published an overall assessment of the implications of
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all decisions made in last year's spending review on projections of future public expenditure. The Government would adopt a similar approach when taking decisions on future levels of funding for further CCS demonstration projects.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what class of travel was used by those participating in the green trade mission; and which airlines were used. [51679]
Gregory Barker: My private secretary and I flew business class to and from the US and economy class within the US. A DECC official supported me on the mission, flying premium economy to the US, economy class within the US, and economy class back to the UK. British Airways was used for the transatlantic flights, and US Airways for flights within the US.
The business delegates made their own travel arrangements and paid for their own tickets. The Department does not hold information on the airlines or class of travel that they chose to use.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what trade deals were signed (a) during and (b) after the green trade mission to the US. [51680]
Gregory Barker: The visit had the objectives of demonstrating that the shift to a green economy is beneficial for businesses and growth, as well as promoting bilateral trade opportunities. The visit was successful in both regards with the UK companies on the mission gaining a greater understanding of the opportunities for them in the US market and a number of US companies expressing interest in the UK. Signing “trade deals” during the visit was not an objective for the delegation.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what (a) gifts and (b) hospitality members of the green trade mission to the US received (a) before, (b) during and (c) after the visit. [51681]
Gregory Barker: The Government are not aware of any gifts or hospitality that members of the delegation may have received.
I received a number of gifts, details of which will be published in the normal way via the Department’s website at:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/registers/gifts_minister/giftsminister.aspx
During the visit, a number of events were hosted by companies and institutions. Details are set out in the following table.
| Organisation | Nature of event | Estimated value of support (£) |
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Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the members of the green trade mission to the US from private sector companies made a contribution to the cost of (a) travel and (b) hotel accommodation. [51682]
Gregory Barker: The representatives of private sector companies on the delegation paid for all of their own hotel accommodation, air and rail transport.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the cost was of (a) air transport, (b) road transport, (c) hotel accommodation, (d) food and drink and (e) other expenses for the green trade mission to the US. [51683]
Gregory Barker: The costs of all ministerial overseas travel are published quarterly in a register on the Department’s website:
http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/accesstoinform/registers/registers.aspx
This will be updated in due course to include the costs of this trip.
Members of the delegation from the private sector paid for their own travel and accommodation.
Road transport and other costs in the US were met by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what plans he and Ministers in his Department have for future green trade missions; and to which countries such missions are planned. [51745]
Gregory Barker:
Ensuring the transition to low carbon sustainable economic growth is central to the Government’s strategy for tackling climate change and recovering from the global financial crisis. British businesses’ ability to demonstrate that they are already seizing the
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opportunities presented by the global green economy assists in making the case around the world for tackling climate change.
I, and other DECC Ministers, will be working with colleagues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment to ensure that the UK’s low carbon business sector plays a key role in our future plans for diplomatic engagement on climate and energy issues with other countries in the future.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the recent green trade mission to the US. [51746]
Gregory Barker: The Department of Energy and Climate Change will purchase offsets in spring 2011 to offset the emissions from all air travel purchased in the 2010-11 financial year, including travel to and from the US by DECC Ministers and officials. The Department will make use of the Government Carbon Offsetting Facility, with full details placed on the Department’s website.
The Government do not hold the relevant information to estimate the emissions arising from the non-Government members of the delegation who made their own transport arrangements.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on how many occasions British forces in Afghanistan have been transported by aircraft of foreign states since 2001. [51028]
Nick Harvey: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. UK Forces operate in Afghanistan as part of a wider NATO effort and assets are assigned based on task not nationality. Accordingly, the UK will routinely make use of other nations’ assets and vice versa.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) on how many occasions the Harrier aircraft failed to respond to close air support requests during its deployment to Afghanistan; [51125]
(2) what the average response time was for close air support missions in Afghanistan for the (a) Tornado and (b) Harrier in the latest period for which figures are available; [51185]
(3) how much notice of planned close air support missions in Afghanistan the Royal Air Force requires; [51186]
(4) on how many occasions Tornado aircraft have failed to respond to close air support requests in Afghanistan since its deployment. [51192]
Nick Harvey:
Harrier was last deployed in Afghanistan in June 2009 and it is no longer in service. When held on ground-based close air support (GCAS) alert both Harrier GR9 prior to June 2009 and Tornado GR4 were declared to operational commanders with the same required readiness state response times. I am withholding further
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details about GCAS as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what payload reductions were necessary for the (a) Harrier and (b) Tornado to operate in Afghanistan during summer operations. [51182]
Nick Harvey: Harrier was last deployed to Afghanistan in June 2009 and it is no longer in service. Neither aircraft type required any payload reductions during summer operations from Kandahar airfield.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which air asset has had the highest reliability rate for close air support missions in Afghanistan since 2002. [51184]
Nick Harvey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my noble Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Lord Astor of Hever, to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead, in another place on 4 November 2010, Official Report, column WA428.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times the Storm Shadow has been used during operations in Afghanistan in the last 12 months. [51300]
Nick Harvey: Storm Shadow has not been used in Afghanistan in the last 12 months. We carefully select the type of weapon in every engagement to ensure the most appropriate munition is used to deliver the required effect, while minimising the risk of civilian casualties.
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the risk management strategy prepared by the Environmental Science Group in relation to the proposal to close the RAF ordnance clearance operations at Goswick sands near Berwick-upon-Tweed; and what revisions to the report took place after the first version was considered by the Royal Air Force. [50443] [Official Report, 19 July 2011, Vol. 531, c. 7MC.]
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Nick Harvey: A copy of the risk management strategy for the former air weapons range at Goswick sands, will be placed in the Library of the House.
The risk management strategy was written at the request of the RAF by the Ministry of Defence's Environmental Science Group (ESG). RAF subject matter experts and other stakeholders were consulted and a number of corrections were incorporated into the final document within Table 8.3. These downgraded the risk level of an accidental explosion resulting from contact with horses on the beach or deliberate tampering.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the expected date is at which the RAF E-3D AWACS will cease to be interoperable with (a) US and (b) NATO air assets. [51189]
Nick Harvey: The RAF E-3D AWACS has an enduring requirement to retain interoperability with US and NATO assets. There is no planned future date when this will change.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what types of Russian military aircraft have entered (a) UK territorial airspace and (b) airspace controlled by UK air traffic control without permission in the last 10 years; and on what date each such incident took place. [50957]
Nick Harvey: No Russian military aircraft have entered UK territorial airspace without permission. Russian military Bear and Blackjack aircraft have entered the UK flight information region without permission.
I am withholding information on how many Russian military aircraft were identified in each incident and the exact dates of incidents, as its release would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the armed forces. However, the number of days within each month from September 2006 that Quick Reaction Alert aircraft were scrambled for Russian military aircraft that entered the civil flight information region is contained in the following table; information is no longer held prior to September 2006.
|
|
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will assess the effects of the deployment of (a) Typhoon jets to the Mediterranean and (b) Rapier missile batteries to Afghanistan on the UK’s capacity to protect its airspace. [50959]
Nick Harvey: There has been no impact on the capability of the Typhoon force to fulfil its Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) commitments. The Typhoon force is of sufficient size that it can support its current role on NATO Operation Unified Protector enforcing the No Fly Zone over Libya, while at the same time maintaining aircraft at continuous ground readiness at RAF Coningsby and RAF Leuchars.
There are no Rapier missile batteries deployed to Afghanistan. Ground-based air defence capabilities, such as Rapier, are not routinely deployed as part of
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our UK air defence posture. However, we retain the capability to deploy them at short notice should the need arise.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial support his Department provided to school cadet forces in the (a) independent and (b) state sector in 2010-11; and what financial support he plans to allocate for 2011-12. [51365]
Mr Robathan: The final amount of financial support provided by public funding to the Ministry of Defence sponsored Cadet forces for financial year (FY) 2010-11 is currently being compiled. It is anticipated that the figures will be similar to FY 2009-10, which are shown in the following table:
| Sponsored Cadet f orce | Funding (£ 000) |
It is not possible to divide these figures accurately between support to independent and state schools, as many of the costs are borne centrally or shared between independent and state schools that are in partnership.
Financial support for FY 2011-12 will be determined as part of the Department's annual planning round.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to reduce the number of combat-trained troops required for ceremonial duties; and if he will make a statement. [51190]
Mr Robathan: All ceremonial duties are conducted by troops with an operational role, and can therefore be considered combat trained.
There are no current plans to reduce the level of public or state ceremonial duties, and no current plans to deliver them using non-combat trained personnel.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which role within the command structure of the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF has responsibility for investigating allegations of (i) domestic violence and (ii) sexual abuse; and if he will make a statement. [51371]
Mr Robathan: Domestic violence and sexual abuse are criminal offences and as such the civilian police would have jurisdiction in such matters. However, there may be occasions when the civilian police pass jurisdiction back to the service and on these occasions, the service police and Service Prosecuting Authority would have the lead, as this is not a matter which could be dealt with summarily by a commanding officer. Overseas, the service police will undertake the duties that would fall to police forces in the UK.
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Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) which welfare organisations are responsible for dealing with domestic violence and sexual abuse within the armed forces; and if he will make a statement; [51372]
(2) what support is available for armed forces personnel and their families (a) accommodated in services living accommodation and (b) on an overseas posting who experience incidents of (i) domestic violence and (ii) sexual abuse; and if he will make a statement. [51430]
Mr Robathan: Domestic violence and sexual abuse manifest themselves in many forms and incidents require a wide range of skills from a variety of service and civilian support agencies if they are to be dealt with effectively. No organisation therefore has sole or statutory responsibility for detecting, dealing with, or offering support in response to all forms of such abuse within the service community. However, examples of the agencies involved would include: service welfare organisations; padres/chaplains; medical practitioners; local authority children’s services/adult social care; woman’s aid; independent domestic violence advisers; and civilian and service police forces.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether service families federations were consulted on the content of the Tri-Service Policy on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (JSP 913); and if he will make a statement. [51373]
Mr Robathan: The service family federations were not consulted. However, subject matter experts within the three single services were consulted throughout the production of the Joint Services Publication and all provided input. A draft was also circulated to stakeholders, including external charities and organisations, through the Violence Against Women and Girls department in the Home Office.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to take steps to raise awareness amongst (a) service personnel and (b) civilians subject to service discipline of the Tri-Service Policy on Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (JSP 913); and if he will make a statement. [51431]
Mr Robathan: The new Joint Services Publication 913 is referenced in single service websites and regulations. The individual services' police forces undertake awareness briefings through such groups as families forums, and the pamphlets highlighting areas where support is available to service families have also been produced.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what training commanding officers receive on dealing with allegations and incidents of (a) domestic violence and (b) sexual violence; and if he will make a statement. [51466]
Mr Robathan: Commanding Officers receive briefings on dealing with allegations of domestic or sexual abuse which provide guidance and highlight where they can turn for further advice. This advice will be available through a variety of sources, from unit welfare officers and service welfare organisations, whose staff receive thorough training in all areas of welfare, to specialist police officers and personnel staff.
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David T. C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many litres of Avgas the armed forces used in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [51549]
(2) what plans he has for the future use of Avgas by the armed forces; and if he will make a statement; [51550]
(3) what proportion of aircraft fuel used by the Royal Air Force is Avgas. [51596]
Peter Luff: During the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011 almost 2.8 million litres of Avgas was delivered to Ministry of Defence (MOD) units. Avgas comprises 0.5% of the total volume of aviation fuel delivered to the RAF. Details of fuel consumption are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The MOD regularly reviews its fuel requirements, including the volume and types of fuel it needs. While an operational or technical requirement remains for this type of fuel, Avgas will continue to be used.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information his Department holds on the incidence of marriage breakdowns among armed forces personnel after deployment; and if he will make a statement. [52218]
Mr Robathan: No information is held on the incidence of marital breakdowns after deployment. The implementation of the joint personnel administration system in 2006 amended the way that marital status was recorded to focus on current status. It is therefore not possible to say how many people in the armed forces are divorced or separated without incurring disproportionate cost as this would require a review of all personal records.
Mr Woodward: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel in the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force had a home address in (i) Merseyside and (ii) St Helens South and Whiston constituency in the most recent year for which figures are available. [52320]
Mr Robathan: As at 1 January 2011 there were 140 service personnel stationed in the Merseyside county area. 80 from the Army, 40 from the Royal Navy and 20 from the Royal Air Force.
10 of the 140 service personnel were based in St Helens.
Residential address information with reference to parliamentary constituency is not held.
Details of the number and stationed location of military personnel broken down by service, county, unitary authority and local authority area is produced by the Department as Tri-Service Publication 10 which can be found at:
http://www.dasa.mod.uk/applications/newWeb/www/index.php?page=48&pubType=0&thiscontent=100&Publish Time=09:30:00&date=2011-02-10&disText=01%20Jan% 202011&from=listing&topDate=2011-02-10
A copy is available in the Library of the House.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 66W
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many meetings on the proposed Arms Trade treaty he has attended since his appointment. [51965]
Mr Gerald Howarth: The Secretary of State for Defence fully supports efforts to secure an Arms Trade treaty and has discussed Arms Trade issues at a number of meetings in the course of normal defence business.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers and (c) officials in his Department have had with their counterparts at the UN on the Arms Trade treaty. [52006]
Mr Gerald Howarth: The Secretary of State for Defence fully supports efforts to secure an Arms Trade treaty. The Secretary of State and other Ministers are fully engaged in developments on an Arms Trade treaty and have discussed this issue with their counterparts in the course of normal defence business.
Ministry of Defence officials are part of the cross-government team, led by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, including experts from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for International Development. The UK team is fully and proactively engaged both domestically and internationally on efforts to negotiate an Arms Trade treaty; MOD experts were part of the UK delegation which attended the last Preparatory Committee meeting held at the United Nations in February 2011.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the contribution of the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology of 1 March 2011, Official Report, column 65WH, which categories of long-lead items are to be purchased ahead of Main Gate. [51459]
Peter Luff: As I told the House on 1 March 2011, Official Report, column 65WH, it is normal practice for most large procurement programmes to purchase long lead items ahead of Main Gate.
Final decisions on what Long Lead items will be required and when, will not be taken until after Initial Gate. However, the main categories are expected to be: Boat one: items related to primary and secondary propulsion; the main boat system and steel including hull structure and structural fittings; electrical generation, conversion, and distribution; some components of the Combat Systems; and ship's services; Boats two and three: items related to propulsion.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of his Department since his appointment. [52000]
Dr Fox: There have been no ministerial directions issued since my appointment.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 67W
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Liverpool, Wavertree of 24 March 2011, Official Report, column 1227W, on departmental alcoholic drinks, how much his Department spent on the contents of ministerial drinks cabinets between 2 May 1997 and 12 May 2010. [51035]
Mr Robathan: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts his Department and its associated public bodies signed with Lockheed Martin in each of the last 10 years; and for what purposes each such contract was let. [50695]
Peter Luff: The total number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) contracts with Lockheed Martin and its subsidiaries that appear on the MOD’s financial management shared service centre (FMSSC) database at the end of each financial year requested and the overall value of those contracts are as follows:
| Financial year | Number of contracts placed | Value of contracts placed (£) |
More detailed information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51526]
Mr Robathan: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not have monthly targets for job reductions.
As set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), the MOD civilian work force is expected to decrease by around 25,000 to 60,000 by 2015. Of these, we expect around 5,000 to be transferred outside of Defence through the sale of certain trading funds such as the Defence Support Group. The remainder will be managed through natural turnover, a near freeze on external recruitment, outsourcing, the release of certain locally engaged civilian staff working overseas, and the early release of others.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 68W
We launched a civilian voluntary early release scheme as a first stage, with a goal of some 4,000 voluntary exits by 31 March 2012. We are currently considering how best to manage subsequent stages of reductions, and will bring forward further proposals in due course in consultation with the Department's trades unions.
The SDSR also set out reductions of around 17,000 service personnel by 2015:
the Royal Navy will decrease by around 5,000 personnel to a total of circa 30,000;
the Army by around 7,000 to circa 95,000;
the Royal Air Force by around 5,000 personnel to circa 33,000.
Some of these will be delivered through natural turnover and some through redundancy. We will continue to recruit to prevent critical skills shortages in certain roles; and maintain the right mix of trained and experienced personnel for the future. The Secretary of State for Defence set out in his statement of 1 March 2011, Official Report, column 21WS, the process and timetable for the armed forces redundancy schemes, which will be conducted in a series of tranches. The RAF set out the areas in which it was planning first tranche reductions on 1 March and the Royal Navy and Army on 4 April. Under this tranche the Royal Navy is seeking a reduction of around 1,600, the Army of around 1,000, and the RAF of around 1,100. Individuals will be notified if they have been selected for redundancy in this first tranche on 1 September for the Army and RAF, and 30 September for the Royal Navy.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51416]
Mr Robathan: We do not hold this information in the format requested as we do not record the numbers and costs of mobile communication devices allocated to officials alone.
We do, however, hold information on the combined number and cost of official devices allocated to Ministers, members of the armed forces and civil servants as part of the Defence Fixed Telecommunications Service, which provides for most of our mobile communication requirements. In 2009-10 the total number of mobile communications devices (including mobile phones, BlackBerrys and 3G data cards) in issue at the end of the financial year was 45,306 and their cost (including rental, calls and data services) was some £6.6 million.
Official mobile communication devices are provided for the conduct of business in a similar way to desk-based telephones, a computer or a laptop. Technology-enabled mobile working helps increase our efficiency, support flexible working patterns and drive down administrative costs.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the provision of separate trading accounts for agencies within his Department. [48836]
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Mr Robathan: Of the Department’s agencies the Trading Fund accounting officers, under the Government Trading Funds Act 1973, have to produce an annual statement of accounts in a form approved by the Treasury. There is no separate departmental policy.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress has been made on planning round 11; and if he will make a statement. [51813]
Dr Fox: The Ministry of Defence has concluded planning round 2011. The outcomes of the planning round take forward the decisions made in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). I will make a statement to the House on the progress of implementing the SDSR and the Department’s finances shortly.
Maria Eagle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date (a) he and (b) each other
26 Apr 2011 : Column 70W
Minister in his Department last travelled by London underground services on Government business; how many times (i) he and (ii) each other Minister in his Department has travelled by London underground services on Government business since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [50078]
Mr Robathan: Given the nature of Defence business, the need for privacy to be able to read documents and to discuss issues with others often precludes the use of any means of transport where Defence Ministers could be overseen or overheard. This maximises the time available to conduct ministerial duties. In the case of the Secretary of State for Defence, the right hon. Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), his travel is orchestrated by the Metropolitan police. Since 12 May 2010 the instances where Defence Ministers have therefore been able to use the London underground are set out in the following table:
| Minister | Date last travelled on London underground in official capacity | Number of times travelled on London underground in official capacity since 12 May 2010 |
|
Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (Peter Luff) |
||
|
Minister for International Security Strategy (Gerald Howarth) |
||
|
Minister for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans (the right hon. Andrew Robathan) |
||
| (1) But paid for personally | ||
From 1 May to 11 May 2010, during the previous Government, no Defence Minister travelled on the London underground on Government business.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has initiated the Managing Staff Surpluses Agreement. [50882]
Mr Robathan: This agreement was drawn up with the trade unions as the basis for managing staff surpluses. Its primary aim is to provide a framework for examining measures with the aim of minimising or avoiding compulsory redundancy and it is consistent with the overarching efficiency and relocation support programme. We have invited the Trade Unions to take part in discussions about possible measures. A number of the measures referred to in the Managing Staff Surpluses Agreement are already in place and the use of voluntary early release, as a principal response to the challenges set by the strategic defence and security review and spending review 2010, and the need to deal with the deficit in the defence budget, is explicitly provided for in that agreement.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to prevent skill shortages developing within his Department as a consequence of staff seeking voluntary release as part of the reduction in the number of civil servants in his Department. [50883]
Mr Robathan: Civil servants provide the Ministry of Defence (MOD) with a broad spectrum of skills ranging from policy and administrative support to nuclear engineering. Each functional skills area is assigned a skills champion to provide a strategic input into civilian skills planning for their function. They advise on major trends and issues affecting their community; seek to enhance professionalism; identify key corporate work force/skills needs; and help shape and influence appropriate interventions to address those needs.
When introducing the Voluntary Early Release Scheme (VERS) we recognised the need to implement it in such a way as to retain critical skills. Early in the process, skills champions identified the skills that needed to be retained by the Department and within individual business areas; their advice was used in the design of the criteria which will be used to select individuals for release.
Skills champions will be asked to review individual release decisions to ensure the Department’s wider needs are considered before any offer of voluntary release is made.
All redundancies following the SDSR are a matter of regret, but they are a necessary measure to deal with the deficit in the defence budget.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much funding has been allocated to meet the costs of future reductions in the number of civil servants in his Department in each of the next four years. [50884]
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Mr Robathan: The Voluntary Early Release Scheme closed for applications at the end of March. It is therefore too early to say how much funding will be allocated over this period to meet the costs of reductions of civil servants in the Department.
Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff of his Department have been (a) seconded and (b) attached or on loan to Defence Equipment and Support Project teams in its prime contractors since 2005. [50446]
Peter Luff: According to the Ministry of Defence’s human resources system, 13 staff from Defence Equipment and Support have had secondments with the private sector since 2008; four staff are currently on secondment. Those secondments began in the following years:
|
|
Number |
Information about numbers on secondment was not held centrally before December 2007.
Information is not held centrally about the whether the companies to whom these secondments were made were prime contractors. I will write to the hon. Member with this information.
Substantive answer from Peter Luff to Christopher Pincher:
I undertook to write to you in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 5 April 2011 (Official Report, column 759W), about whether the companies to whom Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) staff had been seconded since 2008 were prime contractors.
The 13 DE&S staff were seconded under the Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) Interchange arrangements which present a useful way of bringing new skills and perspectives into the Civil Service and into the MOD as a partner of industry. Of these, 10 were seconded to companies with whom the MOD held a direct contract at the time. The companies were as follows:
Aerosystems International Ltd
Babcock International Group
Babcock Marine (two staff)
BAE Systems
GPT Special Project Management Ltd
Interserve Defence
MBDA UK Ltd
Remploy Ltd
Serco Defence, Science & Technology
Maria Eagle:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent on ministerial travel by (a) ministerial car, (b) train, (c) bus, (d) commercial aircraft and (e) private aircraft since May 2010. [50223]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 72W
Mr Robathan: In order to keep costs as low as possible our Department uses an electronic booking system together with Hogg Robinson Group that search for and provide the cheapest and competitive prices available through their travel search engines.
Our data currently only extend to January 2011 and are provided in the following table:
| Form of transport | Amount spent from May 2010 to January 2011 (£) |
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in the last year for which figures are available. [51400]
Mr Robathan: External recruitment to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) for grades below the senior civil service (SCS) is carried out by the People Pay and Pensions Agency (PPPA). Where external recruitment for SCS level posts is required, recruitment agencies may be asked to carry out an initial search for suitable candidates. In financial year (FY) 2010-11 the MOD spent £90,015 on recruitment agency fees in connection with SCS level recruitment.
MOD support to staff who are leaving on redundancy or voluntary release includes access to the outplacement service (MODOPS). MODOPS is a contractor-operated service which helps staff to find work outside the civil service, giving guidance on subjects including job-searching, CV writing, interview preparation and financial planning. MODOPS also provides on line support for a period of time after leaving. In FY 2010-11, the MOD spent £72,515 on MODOPS programmes. These costs reflect the previous contract pricing; a new pricing structure has recently been negotiated which will significantly reduce costs.
The Defence Academy is the primary provider of training and education to civilian personnel, both through courses run on-site, and through the provision of e-learning, including the running of Defence e-learning centres. Specialist and functional training is also procured from a range of external suppliers. Some training is also delivered locally, usually by civilian or military staff for whom training is not a full-time responsibility, but the costs of locally delivered training are not separately identified and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost. Details of expenditure on staff training in FY 2010-11 are not yet available. In FY 2009-10, this expenditure was £65.127 million.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 73W
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Syria, (ii) Yemen, (iii) Qatar and (iv) Egypt between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50948]
(2) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Lebanon, (ii) Israel, (iii) Nigeria and (iv) Uzbekistan between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50949]
(3) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Afghanistan, (ii) Burma, (iii) Rwanda and (iv) Somalia between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50950]
(4) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Guinea, (ii) Turkey, (iii) United Arab Emirates and (iv) Chad between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50951]
(5) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Burundi, (ii) Kenya, (iii) Sudan and (iv) Zimbabwe between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50952]
(6) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from Bahrain between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50953]
(7) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Tunisia, (ii) Libya, (iii) Kuwait and (iv) Saudi Arabia between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50954]
(8) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Iraq, (ii) Ivory Coast, (iii) Liberia and (iv) Burkina Faso between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010; [50955]
(9) on what occasions (a) officials, (b) Ministers and (c) military personnel in his Department met their counterparts from (i) Sri Lanka and (ii) Pakistan between 2 May 1997 and 1 January 2010. [50956]
Nick Harvey: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 4 November 2010, Official Report, column 1316W, on HMS Endurance, when he expects to announce a decision on the future of HMS Endurance; and whether he has estimated the cost of repair to the present vessel. [50867]
Peter Luff:
On current plans, a decision on the future of HMS Endurance is now expected to be taken in 2012. I am withholding information relating to estimated costs as its disclosure would prejudice the Ministry of Defence’s commercial interests.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 74W
However, as Lord Astor of Hever said in another place on 21 March 2011,
Official Report
,
House of Lords
, columns 451-52, HMS Protector will provide the interim replacement ice patrol ship capability for at least the next three years while we consider the long-term future of HMS Endurance.
Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether depleted uranium munitions have been used by coalition forces in Libya. [50940]
Nick Harvey: None of the weapons supplied to UK armed forces for uses over Libya contain depleted uranium (DU).
Other coalition forces over Libya may choose to use DU munitions fired from aircraft guns against armoured targets if they have that capability, but that is a matter for them alone.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what British forces have been flown into Gibraltar in preparation for use in military operations over Libya; and if he will make a statement; [52036]
(2) which ships of (a) the Royal Navy and (b) navies of other countries have called at his Department’s bases in Gibraltar en route to military operations over Libya; [52037]
(3) what assessment he has made of the role of his Department’s bases in Gibraltar on military operations over Libya. [52038]
Nick Harvey: No British forces have been flown to Gibraltar in preparation for operations over Libya. HM Naval Base has provided support to HMS York, HMS Westminster, HMS Liverpool and to HM Canadian Ship Charlottetown as they deployed. HMS York, HMS Westminster, HMS Cumberland and USS Providence and USS Florida also visited Gibraltar when returning from operations off Libya.
The Strategic Defence and Security Review confirmed the importance of the Permanent Joint Operating Base in Gibraltar to the UK’s ability to mount a range of deployments from there. Gibraltar’s response to the demands placed on it by current operations has been impressive and the experience clearly confirms Gibraltar’s operational significance.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have discussed the use of Raptor in Libya; [52046]
(2) whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have discussed with the armed forces the use of Raptor in Libya. [52047]
Mr Robathan:
Ministers regularly discuss the provision of capability in support of current operations with military commanders and officials. For reasons of operational security, it is not our policy to comment on specific capabilities; we will keep our
26 Apr 2011 : Column 75W
operationalrequirements for all capabilities under constant review to ensure that they continue to meet our mission objectives.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have discussed with the armed forces any transfer to Libya of capabilities deployed in Afghanistan. [52053]
Nick Harvey: There are a number of capabilities deployed in Afghanistan that are common to those being used in support of Op Ellamy in Libya, including reconnaissance, air to air refuelling, ground attack and surveillance capabilities.
Various discussions at an official level have occurred between the Department and Single Service Commands to determine what assets were available to deliver the capabilities required to enforce UNSCR 1970 and 1973.
To date, the only equipment transferred from Afghanistan to Op Ellamy has been a number of dual-mode Brimstone missiles, given the higher demand for this type of weapon on Op Ellamy. This has not created a capability gap in Afghanistan.
Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent estimate his Department has made of the cost per hour of using the (a) Harrier, (b) GR4 Tornado and (c) Apache in close air support operations. [50564]
Nick Harvey [holding answer 1 April 2011]: The Harrier is no longer in operational service. The estimated average full cost per funded flying hour for financial year 2010-11 is £35,000 for Tornado GR4 and £42,000 for Apache AH1. These figures include forward and depth servicing, fuel costs, crew costs, training costs, cost of capital charge, depreciation and amortisation.
The average marginal cost per funded flying hour for financial year 2010-11 is £5,000 for both Tornado GR4 and Apache. The marginal costs include only direct running costs, which are principally made up of consumables like fuel costs.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the review of the rules governing the award of military medals will report. [52008]
Mr Robathan: The Government are undertaking a review of the rules governing the awarding of military medals in line with its commitment in the programme for government. The review is currently with the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for final evaluation. I hope to announce the conclusions of the review shortly after Easter.
Mark Tami:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011,
26 Apr 2011 : Column 76W
Official Report
, column 948W, on Sealand, what recent discussions he has had with the Defence Support Group (DSG) management on the proposed visit to DSG at Sealand by the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside. [52546]
Mr Robathan: The Secretary of State for Defence has held no discussions with Defence Support Group (DSG) management on the proposed visit to DSG Sealand by the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside, and nor has any other Minister.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 948W, on Sealand, whether the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans had been informed of the proposed visit to the Defence Support Group at Sealand by the hon. Member for Alyn and Deeside. [52547]
Mr Robathan: I was unaware of the hon. Gentleman’s wish to visit the Defence Support Group at Sealand until he raised the matter with the Secretary of State for Defence during Defence questions on 14 March 2011.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the likely number of sea-going commands for Royal Navy officers of the rank of captain in (a) 2015 and (b) 2020. [51118]
Nick Harvey: On current planning it is expected that there will be six sea-going commands for the rank of Captain Royal Navy in 2015 and five in 2020; in 2015 they are expected to be HMS Ocean, HMS Bulwark, HMS Albion, a T23 frigate and a T45 destroyer, and the Ice Patrol Ship. In 2020 the five are expected to include one of the two new Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers, HMS Bulwark or HMS Albion, a T23 frigate and a T45 destroyer, and the Ice Patrol Ship.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the planned primary roles of the Nimrod MR4 can be carried out by (a) unmanned aerial vehicles and (b) satellite surveillance. [51306]
Peter Luff: The UK currently has no unmanned aerial systems or satellite surveillance capability that can perform the primary maritime patrol aircraft tasks planned to be undertaken by the Nimrod MRA4 programme. We do however have a range of other maritime and air assets that are able to provide similar capability.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence by how much the Tornado GR4 has exceeded its planned fatigue life expectancy. [51307]
Peter Luff: The Tornado GR4 aircraft entered service with the RAF in 1998. Since that date, no Tornado aircraft has exceeded its fatigue life.
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Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) MR1 and (b) MR2 Nimrod aircraft have been withdrawn from service and destroyed in the last 12 months. [51375]
Peter Luff: The decisions to withdraw the Nimrod R1 and MR2 were taken by the previous Government.
No Nimrod R1 aircraft have been withdrawn from service or destroyed in the last twelve months.
The fleet of 14 Nimrod MR2 aircraft were withdrawn from service on 31 March 2010. Three of the aircraft were sold for recycling by the Disposal Services Authority, generating receipts for the UK taxpayer.
Five complete aircraft, one nose section and one forward fuselage have been sold to Aviation museums across the UK, and one aircraft has been gifted to the RAF Museum in Cosford.
One aircraft was transferred to the Defence Fire training and development centre to be used for training. The remaining aircraft have yet to be disposed of.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department has considered purchasing reactors for any Trident replacement submarines from the US; and if he will make a statement. [51457]
Peter Luff: The 2006 White Paper on the future of the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent set out our intention to build the replacement Vanguard submarines in the UK, for reasons of national sovereignty, nuclear safety regulation, operational effectiveness and maintenance of key UK scientific and industrial skills. This includes the reactors.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his US counterparts on the future lease of (a) Poseidon-8 and (b) RC-135 Rivet Joint. [51374]
Peter Luff: We have had discussions with the US Government on maritime patrol aircraft capability but currently have no plans to lease Poseidon-8 aircraft. However, as stated, following the decision not to bring the Nimrod MRA4 into service, we are keeping our future requirements for maritime patrol aircraft under review. In March 2010, the Ministry of Defence signed an agreement with the US Government to purchase three Rivet Joint aircraft and associated training and ground systems as a replacement for the Nimrod R1.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors he took into account in deciding to decommission RFA Fort George rather than an older fleet replenishment ship. [51119]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 78W
Peter Luff: RFA Fort George is one of only two Auxiliary oilers replenishment in service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and both ships are the same age. The decision to withdraw Fort George from service instead of her sister ship Fort Victoria took into account the material state of each ship, their respective maintenance requirements and the estimated savings that the retirement of each ship would deliver.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for East Renfrewshire of 16 March 2011, Official Report, column 354W, on amphibious vehicles, how much aid was delivered by RFA Largs Bay; and how many people received medical treatment facilitated by RFA Largs Bay and her crew. [51257]
Nick Harvey: In support of the United Nations-led relief efforts following the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, RFA Largs Bay delivered 595 linear metres of relief supplies and equipment, including fork lift trucks, four-wheel drive vehicles and corrugated sheeting, together with the required cargo handling and beach landing capabilities. These capabilities facilitated the delivery of much-needed medical supplies to communities otherwise unreachable by road and air following the earthquake. It is not possible to identify specifically how many people benefited from this. Largs Bay did not land personnel in Haiti, and no direct medical treatment was provided to Haitians onboard the ship.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Coventry North East of 21 January 2011, Official Report, column 1022W, on marines, what assessment he has made of the effect of reductions to the size of the (a) Royal Marines and (b) Parachute Brigade on the overall size and recruitment pool of special forces units; and if he will make a statement. [51193]
Nick Harvey: As highlighted in the strategic defence and security review, the immense contribution of our highly professional special forces is necessarily largely unreported. It is the long-standing policy of the Ministry of Defence not to comment on matters concerning UK special forces.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received on revisiting the outcomes of the strategic defence and security review. [51812]
Dr Fox: We have received a number of representations including letters from individual citizens and Members of Parliament, to Ministers and the Department directly and in the press, and various interventions on the Floor of the House.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 79W
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many urgent operational requirements have been commissioned for the Tornado GR4 in the last 12 months. [51302]
Peter Luff: Two Urgent Operational Requirements for Afghanistan have been approved for the Tornado GR4 in the last 12 months.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of staff hours required in maintenance per flying hour was for the (a) Tornado GR4 and (b) Harrier GR9 in the latest period for which figures are available. [51183]
Peter Luff: For the period 1 December 2010 to 28 February 2011, the maintenance staff hours per flying hour for the Tornado GR4 squadrons, including the Operational Conversion Unit, was 5.49 hours.
Harrier GR9 was withdrawn from service in December 2010. The latest period for which figures are available for Harrier GR9 is 1 July to 30 September 2010. The maintenance staff hours per flying hour were 6.07 hours.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the Trident replacement Initial gate report will include details of the (a) cost and (b) technical matters considered for each of the four successor design options during the concept phase; [51175]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost differential between each of the four design options considered during the concept phase of the Trident replacement programme. [51176]
Peter Luff: The initial gate parliamentary report will outline the work that has taken place since the parliamentary vote of March 2007 and an overview of the analysis of the options investigated during the concept phase. We will provide a description and revised cost estimate of the selected design in the initial gate parliamentary report, but not for those designs that have been rejected.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the projected budget is for design and technology development during the Trident replacement programme assessment phase. [51458]
Peter Luff: I am withholding details of the projected budget as to release the figures would prejudice commercial interests.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assumptions he made in his revision of the forecast of war pensions payments between November 2010 and March 2011. [51562]
Mr Robathan:
The main supply estimate and supplementary estimates for financial year 2010-11 for war pensions benefits did not change and remained at £972 million. However, the unaudited end of year forecast
26 Apr 2011 : Column 80W
for financial year 2010-11 is now £935 million. This equates to a 3.8% reduction, which reflects the fall in the number of benefits paid and new claims processed each year due to the age of the war pensions scheme’s customer base and the introduction of the new Armed Forces and Reserve Forces Compensation Scheme in April 2005.
The estimate for financial year 2011-12 prepared in January 2010 was £965 million. This was reduced by 2.8% to £938 million in January 2011 based on an overall 4% reduction due to mortality rates in the number of claimants or potential claimants and the change from retail prices index to consumer prices index as the basis for indexation.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the operational tasking is of (a) HMS Albion, (b) HMS Bulwark, (c) RFA Lyme Bay, (d) RFA Cardigan Bay and (e) RFA Mounts Bay. [51121]
Nick Harvey: HMS Albion, RFA Cardigan Bay and RFA Mounts Bay are part of the Responsive Force Task Group which is currently planned to deploy as part of the wider Cougar deployment on 26 April.
RFA Lyme Bay is currently deployed on Op Telic and HMS Bulwark is in Devonport prior to an assisted maintenance period.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many ships were tasked with maritime security in UK waters in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010; and which ships were so tasked. [51123]
Nick Harvey: When not conducting specific National Operational tasking all Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships conduct maritime security in UK waters.
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress he has made in disposing of one Bay-class ship; and if he will make a statement. [51124]
Peter Luff: There has been significant interest from foreign Governments in acquiring RFA Largs Bay and I am pleased to confirm that the Australian Government have been selected as the preferred bidder. Officials are now working with the Australian Department of Defence to complete the sale.
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many reports the Civil Aviation Authority has received of airline pilots or other air crew using oxygen masks in circumstances where poisonous fumes were released into passenger aircraft in the last five years for which figures are available. [51337]
Mrs Villiers:
Incidents where aircrew have required the use of oxygen masks are reported to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the UK's independent
26 Apr 2011 : Column 81W
aviation regulator, through the Mandatory Occurrence Reporting Scheme (MORS). The following table gives details of the number of reports for the last five years..
It is not possible to determine from those reports whether the use of oxygen was related to poisonous fumes or non-poisonous fumes or smoke, and aircrew are trained to don their oxygen masks as a precaution. The Committee on Toxicity concluded in 2007 that the evidence available did not establish a link between cabin air and pilot ill health, but nor did it rule one out. In-flight research by Cranfield university to fill that evidence gap by assembling data on substances in cabin air and in what concentrations will be published soon.
| Reports of use of oxygen masks (UK passenger flights) | Number of UK passenger flights | Number of passengers carried on UK aircraft | |
| (1) Estimate | |||
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will consider the merits of introducing regulations to require the operation of air quality detection systems on commercial aircraft carrying fee-paying passengers. [51338]
Mrs Villiers: The introduction of such regulations on board a commercial aircraft is the responsibility of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), rather than the UK GAA.
Cranfield university is completing research into real time sampling of cabin air to determine what chemicals occur in cabin air and in what concentrations. This research will be published soon. We expect this research to inform future decisions on the matters raised by my hon. Friend and will ensure that EASA are made aware of its conclusions.
Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the incidences of exposure of aircraft passengers to the organophosphate TCP in the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [51339]
Mrs Villiers: Cranfield university are completing research into real time sampling of cabin air to determine what chemicals occur in cabin air and in what concentrations. This includes sampling for the presence of organophosphates, including TCP. This research will be published soon.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what (a) savings will be made and (b) costs will be incurred from abolishing BRB (Residuary) Ltd in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15. [46480]
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Mrs Villiers: The Government are seeking powers through the Public Bodies Bill to make reforms to a number of public bodies including BRB (Residuary) Ltd. Subject to the enactment of that Bill, the Department for Transport expects to be in a position to abolish BRB (Residuary) in 2013.
Exact future costs and savings cannot be predicted with certainty. However, we estimate the net administration costs of abolishing the company may be in the order of £1 million. Thereafter, the Department estimates that savings in the order of £2.5 million to £2.8 million per annum are achievable in administration expenditure.
Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what contracts his Department and its associated public bodies signed with Lockheed Martin in each of the last 10 years; and for what purposes each such contract was let. [50701]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport was formed in May 2002. Since that date, no contracts have been signed with Lockheed Martin by either the Department or its associated public bodies.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff are employed full-time in his Department to undertake work on or relating to (a) fossil fuels, (b) biofuels and (c) electric vehicles. [46353]
Norman Baker: Staff across the Department for Transport (DfT) work on these issues; the majority are in Greener Transport and International directorate, including:
14 working in the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, focusing on ultra-low emission vehicles. These staff are drawn from DfT, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and the Energy Savings Trust.
18 work in the Low Carbon Fuels Team, focusing on renewable transport fuels.
Other staff across DfT and other Government Departments work on issues that relate to these subject areas as part of their jobs.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51428]
Norman Baker: The number of mobile communication devices and the cost is set out in the following table for both the central Department and for its seven Executive agencies. Mobile phones and BlackBerrys are normally provided on an individual basis, although some will be for team use. Some 3G data devices are provided to business units to facilitate remote data capture.
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| Mobile communication devices | Number | Cost 2010-11 (£) | |
| (1) The DFT(C) spend excludes VAT. (2 )HA and VOSA spend is for 2009-10. Roll-out of the HA BlackBerry service was just beginning and device and usage costs fall into 2010-11. | |||
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has spent on indoor and outdoor plants and trees since his appointment. [48415]
Norman Baker: The requested information is provided in the following table:
| Spend (£) | |||
| 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
| (1) Includes termination cost of maintenance agreement. Expenditure on plants is now set to be approximately £450 per annum with effect from March 2011. (2) Nil spend on indoor and outdoor plants. Above excludes grounds maintenance contract. (3) Relates to purchase of one plant for “Families Room” (where MAIB speak to bereaved relatives etc). (4) Includes purchase and maintenance of indoor and outdoor plants, majority of costs relate to maintenance. (5) Relates to spend at agency HQ and Eastgate House, Newcastle. Following contract termination and expiry future expenditure at these sites will be nil. The agency has contracts for the provision of grounds maintenance services over its operational estate. The amount spent on outdoor plants and trees can be provided only at disproportionate cost. (6) The Highways Agency has been working to cancel all remaining contracts for the provision of plants. In most cases charges were incurred due to contractual obligations and prohibitive cancellation fees reflecting the initial capital outlay by the contractor on plants. Contracts for four sites remain in place, due notice has been given to the suppliers to cancel contracts and end dates agreed. (7) Relates to winter bedding plants. Costs at agency HQ and training centre are built into the maintenance contract of the estate and are not easily identifiable. (8) The information requested is not recorded and could be only obtained at disproportionate cost. Note: 2009-10 data cover the period from 1 April 2009 February 2010. | |||
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Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the level of savings which will accrue from the change in function of Passenger Focus/Passengers’ Council. [48764]
Mrs Villiers: The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), issued a written ministerial statement on 16 March 2011, Official Report, columns 9-10WS, updating Parliament on progress on public bodies reform. That statement also announced that Departments estimate cumulative administrative savings of at least £2.6 billion will flow from public bodies over the spending review period.
The budget of Passenger Focus for 2011-12 is £4.7 million which compares to a budget in 2010-11 of £8.2 million. We estimate that the budget for the remainder of the spending review period to 2014-15, will remain at similar levels to that set for 2011-12.
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are entitled to travel first class by rail within the UK. [47064]
Norman Baker: An historical entitlement to first class UK rail travel is retained by higher grades in the central Department and five of its seven agencies. However, the current policy of this Department and its agencies is to require all travel to be booked at standard class, irrespective of grade, unless there are compelling reasons to travel first class or, where a first class discount or advance ticket is cheaper.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department plans to fund research on international experience in reducing the number of personal injury claims relating to motor insurance. [51096]
Mike Penning: There are no current plans to do so. However we are considering the Transport Select Committee's recommendation included in its report on the cost of motor insurance.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made an assessment of the feasibility of replacing the Pass Plus advanced driving course with other means of proving competence to insurers. [51098]
Mike Penning: The Driving Standards Agency has been reviewing both the purpose and content of the Pass Plus scheme. The agency is also continuing to explore with the insurance industry other options for improving market confidence so that we can maximise both the incentives and take up of post-test training initiatives.
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Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made an assessment of the merits of deploying and publicising new technology to assess how cars are driven by young drivers for the purposes of reducing casualty rates. [51097]
Mike Penning: The Department for Transport has been in regular contact with vehicle manufacturers and suppliers on developments in new vehicle technology, including driver information systems and parental controls. I recognise that technology which helps to demonstrate how young drivers are driving provides important information on behaviour and their insurance and casualty risks. The insurance industry is already starting to make use of technologies and new products, where young drivers are willing to accept restrictions or training. The Government are keen to work with the insurance industry and others to look at new approaches and are planning several seminars on ways of reducing the risks of young drivers with key stakeholders.
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has allocated to the costs of tendering for the Greater Anglia franchise. [50872]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport anticipates that the costs of tendering for the Greater Anglia franchise will be in the order of £718,000.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of not electrifying the Great Western main line between Cardiff and Swansea. [45244]
Mrs Villiers: The electrification to Cardiff and the delivery of the new train fleet will boost the south Wales economy with more seats for passengers and faster trains. Swansea to London trains will complete the journey 20 minutes faster in two hours and 39 minutes. This can be expected significantly to enhance the attractiveness of the area for inward investment.
Because the south Wales main line is constrained by speed limitations dictated by the geometry of the line, there would be no time saving benefits from electrifying the line from Cardiff to Swansea.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library a map of the revised proposed route of High Speed 2 marking the location of all (a) tunnels, (b) embankments, (c) deep cuttings, (d) properties that will require noise insulation and (e) properties facing extremely high levels of noise. [43661]
Mr Philip Hammond:
A set of plan and profile maps have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses. They
26 Apr 2011 : Column 86W
contain information on tunnels, embankments and deep cuttings. Maps of properties that will require noise insulation and those facing high levels of noise (73 dB and above) can be found in the ‘Appraisal of Sustainability’, published as part of the high speed consultation, and copies of which have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department has paid to LEK Consulting in 2011 to date. [49876]
Norman Baker [holding answer 29 March 2011]: The Department for Transport has paid a total of £138,062.50 to LEK Consulting in 2011. LEK Consulting has been appointed to develop and evaluate alternative structures for railway operation focusing on cost reduction as part of the Rail Value for Money Study. The contract was placed following a mini-competition under the Department for Transport’s modelling and appraisal framework.
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department provides guidance on the maximum acceptable time for a level crossing to be closed to road traffic in any one hour. [52543]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport does not provide guidance on the maximum acceptable time for a level crossing to be down in any hour. Management of level crossings is an operational matter for Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. Additionally the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) publishes guidance for level crossings on its website. The hon. Member may wish to contact Network Rail’s chief executive at the following address for a response to his question:
David Higgins
Chief Executive
Network Rail
Kings Place
90 York Way
London, N1 9AG
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on how many occasions the Ely level crossing has been closed to trains in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and on how many occasions damage occurred to the crossing barrier as a result of road vehicles. [52542]
Mrs Villiers: This is an operational matter for Network Rail as the owner and operator of the national rail network. Network Rail can be contacted at the following address:
David Higgins
Chief Executive
Network Rail
Kings Place
90 York Way
London, N1 9AG
26 Apr 2011 : Column 87W
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) how many submissions he has received since June 2010 from (a) motorcycle trainers and (b) provisional motorcycle licence holders on (i) the national network of multi-purpose test centres and (ii) a single motorcycle test event; and what arrangements he has made for representation of the views of motorcycle trainers and provisional motorcycle licence holders on the motorcycle test review working group; [51575]
(2) what the name is of each current and former member of the motorcycle test review working group. [51576]
Mike Penning: A public consultation was held on the scope of the motorcycle test review in June-July 2010. There were 489 responses, of which 105 were from motorcycle trainers and 30 from learner motorcyclists. 49 of the submissions from motorcycle trainers and 11 from learner motorcyclists mentioned the national network of multi-purpose test centres. 19 of the submissions from the motorcycle trainers mentioned a single motorcycle test event, but none of the submissions from learners.
The motorcycle test review working group and technical sub group include a number of representatives of motorcycle trainers and motorcycle user groups.
Individual names of people who have served on working groups are private data, but we will seek the agreement of all members to their disclosure and expect to provide all names in the main review report. The organisations represented on the motorcycle test review working group and technical sub-group are as follows:
Department for Transport
Driving Standards Agency
Motorcycle Industry Association
Motorcycle Industry Trainers Association
Motorcycle Action Group
British Motorcyclists Federation
Public and Commercial Services Union
Road Safety Great Britain
Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents
The Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety was also involved in the initial stages of the review.
Department for Transport
Driving Standards Agency
Motorcycle Industry Association
Motorcycle Industry Trainers Association
Motorcycle Action Group
Public and Commercial Services Union
Biketrain Wales
CamRider
Streetwise Training
Fast-Trak Training was also involved in the initial stages of the review.
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John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member of Ceredigion of 23 June 2010, Official Report, columns 245-46W, on motorcycles: driving tests, what the location is of each multi-purpose test centre; how many are (a) leased and (b) publicly owned; what the length of each lease agreement is; what the break options in each case are; and what estimate he has made of the likely cost to the public purse of termination in each such case. [51600]
Mike Penning: The Driving Standards Agency has 52 Multi Purpose Test Centres (MPTC). Of these:
45 are leasehold properties of which five are ground leases
Six are freehold properties
One property is subject to a Civil Estate Occupation Agreement (CEOA)
The location and lease information of each MPTC has been placed in the Libraries of the House. QSA has not estimated the cost of terminating each lease agreement. To end any lease agreement DSA would have to activate break clauses under the terms of the lease, and to do this successfully the Agency must comply with all the lease covenants. Actioning a break clause does not depend on negotiating a financial settlement.
Chris Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the likely change in the number of passengers using the Ebbw Valley Line over the next Network Rail control period. [48108]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport has made high level estimates of the change in passenger numbers between London and Wales. However, the Department looks to the Welsh Assembly Government and the train operator, Arriva Trains Wales, for detailed route estimates.
Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will bring forward proposals to provide for enforcement of disabled parking bays. [51252]
Norman Baker: A parking bay for the use of Blue Badge holders only, when put in place with a Traffic Regulation Order made under the relevant provisions of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, is fully enforceable. Where the local authority has Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) power under the Traffic Management Act 2004, the local authority may serve a higher level Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) if a vehicle is parked without clearly displaying a valid Blue Badge. Where the local authority does not have CPE power, it would be for the police to take enforcement action. In addition to any PCN or Fixed Penalty Notice issued, if the motorist is misusing someone else’s Blue Badge to park in the bay, they could be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000.
Parking enforcement in private car parks is a matter for car park operators and their customers. However, I wrote to the main supermarkets on 22 March 2011, to further encourage them to actively monitor and enforce their disabled parking bays. I wait to hear their plans.
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Mr Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will introduce legislative proposals to prevent local authorities from setting scales of the fees for parking permits based solely on vehicle emissions. [51206]
Norman Baker: We have no plans to do so. Parking charges are a matter for the relevant highway authority.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 98W, on ports, for what purposes the proceeds from the proposed sale of the Port of Dover will be used. [51625]
Mike Penning: No decision on the application by Dover Harbour Board for a transfer of the port undertaking under the Ports Act 1991 has yet been taken. Only in the event of a favourable decision would the port be for sale.
Trust ports are not owned by the Government, though the Ports Act provides for a levy on the proceeds of the initial sale to be payable into the Consolidated Fund.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what (a) costs will be incurred and (b) savings will be made from abolishing the Railway Heritage Committee in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15; [46482]
(2) what residual functions will remain following the abolition of the Railway Heritage Committee; which organisation will carry out each such function; what the estimated costs of each such function are; and what transfer of funds will be made to each organisation to carry out each such function; [46483]
(3) what the budget for the Railway Heritage Committee (a) was in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11 and (b) will be for (A) 2011-12, (B) 2012-13, (C) 2013-14 and (D) 2014-15. [46652]
Mrs Villiers: The Railway Heritage Committee's (RHC) budget was £140,000 in 2009-10 and £114,000 in 2010-11. The RHC's budget for 2011-12 is £99,974.69.
We currently intend to abolish the Railway Heritage Committee (RHC) towards the end of 2011-12, though this will depend on the parliamentary progress of the Public Bodies Bill. Discussions are continuing with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on the transfer of functions to the Board of Trustees of the Science Museum. The abolition of the RHC is expected to involve one-off costs associated with the termination of the contract of one employee of BRB (Residuary) Ltd. If the power of designation is transferred, modest ongoing costs are likely to be incurred, most of which are likely to be absorbed by the Museum of Science and Industry.
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Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what meetings he has had with members of the McNulty review on value for money in the rail industry in 2011; and on what dates such meetings took place. [49885]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 29 March 2011]: The Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), met with Sir Roy McNulty and Ian Dobbs on the following dates:
17 January
21 February
8 March
21 March
In addition, the Secretary of State for Transport attended an industry seminar organised by Sir Roy McNulty on 9 March 2011.
Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 28 February 2011, Official Report, columns 17-18WS, on local and regional rail services, what estimate he has made of the economic effects of changes to funding arrangements for local rail schemes up to April 2015. [45257]
Mrs Villiers: The Department for Transport will consider taking on the funding of local and regional rail services currently funded by local authorities and passenger transport executives (PTEs) from April 2015 rather than April 2014. Changing this date results in the promoters having to fund these services for a further year at a total additional cost of between £1.0 and £1.2 million for the year 2014-15.
Mr Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passenger rail services on High Speed 1 will run between London and points east of (a) Ashford and (b) Faversham under the new timetable for Southeastern passenger rail services. [50579]
Mrs Villiers [holding answer 4 April 2011]:Services which operate east of Faversham serve Whitstable, Herne Bay, Birchington, Margate and Broadstairs. Services which operate east of Ashford to Dover Priory serve Folkestone West and Folkestone Central. Services which operate east of Ashford to Margate serve Canterbury West, Ramsgate and Broadstairs.
The number of Southeastern high-speed rail services which will operate east of Ashford International station and Faversham station from the May 2011 timetable change will not differ from the current specified level of services.
41 high-speed services currently operate daily on a Monday to Friday to and from London to destinations east of Ashford International and Faversham in the current Southeastern timetable.
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The two services from St Pancras in the evening peak which currently terminate at Faversham are scheduled to be diverted to Maidstone West in the May 2011 timetable.
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent steps he has taken to reduce overcrowding on the railways in Greater Manchester. [49533]
Mrs Villiers: An additional 16 carriages are planned to commence operation in December 2011 enhancing capacity in the Greater Manchester area.
This capacity will be delivered through the Department’s HLOS‘—high-level output specification—’programme, with eight additional carriages being introduced into the Northern franchise and a further eight carriages introduced on the Liverpool—Manchester—Nottingham route through the East Midlands franchise.
The Department is also planning to introduce the new electric trains to the Transpennine Express franchise in December 2013. These vehicles will increase capacity between Manchester and Scotland as well other Transpennine services through a cascade of the displaced rolling stock currently operating on that route.
The Department is also discussing the provision of further vehicles to ease crowding in the Northern franchise area, but the services and dates on which this capacity may be added have not yet been finalised.
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the potential (a) costs and (b) benefits of electrification of the rail line between Peterborough and Haughley Junction. [52544]
Mrs Villiers: The Government support a progressive electrification of the rail network in England and Wales as a way of reducing the cost of running the railways, increasing passenger comfort and reducing carbon. We continue to work with Network Rail to look at the case for further electrification in the next rail control period starting in 2014.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact assessment he has undertaken in respect of the abolition of the Maritime Incident Response Group; and if he will make a statement. [51172]
Mike Penning: We are finalising a risk assessment on the review of Maritime Incident Response Group which we hope to publish shortly.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consultation was undertaken with the Fire and Rescue Service on withdrawal of funding for the Maritime Incident Response Group by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and if he will make a statement. [51173]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 92W
Mike Penning: The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is in the process of consulting with the Fire and Rescue Services about the future of the Maritime Incident Response Group. Final decisions on future arrangements will be taken once this consultation is complete.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the expected monetary value is of the contract to provide a replacement emergency towing vessel service; and when he expects the contract to be let. [51509]
Mike Penning: The Government do not expect to let a contract for a replacement service once the current Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) contract expires in September 2011. However, the MCA are working with interested parties to assess how alternative localised arrangements could work following the expiry of the existing contract.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the withdrawal of funding for the Maritime Incident Response Group by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency; and if he will make a statement. [51171]
Mike Penning: As announced last year, we are discussing with a number of interested parties, including the Department for Communities and Local Government, the options for the Maritime Incident Response Group in the future.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what reduction in the level of funding for the Maritime Incident Response Group has been authorised by his Department; and if he will make a statement. [51174]
Mike Penning: We will await the outcome of the consultation currently being held before a level of future funding is determined.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration he has given to the merits of amending Section 12 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to permit a local authority to close roads for the purpose of holding a motor racing event; and if he will make a statement. [50059]
Mike Penning [holding answer 31 March 2011]: I am currently considering the case for making it easier for local authorities to close their roads for major on-road sporting events and intend to consult in due course.
Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to tender a replacement contract for the provision of emergency towing vessels. [50909]
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Mike Penning: There are no plans to tender a replacement contract for the provision of emergency towing vessels.
Between now and the end of September the Maritime and Coastguard Agency will be working with interested parties in the UK to assess the arrangements following expiry of the existing contract.
We will provide information on the outcomes of these discussions in due course.
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change on raising international climate finance from the regulation of shipping emissions. [51234]
Mrs Villiers: The Secretary of State for Transport has regular meetings with the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change at which various matters are discussed including proposals to reduce emissions from the transport sector.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department made prior to the introduction of the draft local authority basic carbon tool of its suitability for calculating non-road-based transport carbon emissions. [51092]
Norman Baker: The Department for Transport undertook extensive research with local authorities, and used in-house analysts, to assess the suitability of a basic carbon tool to calculate emissions from small scale transport interventions. The draft tool can be used to assess emissions from non-road based interventions, including introducing travel plans and behaviour change initiatives. Its introduction has been welcomed by local authorities.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the merits of standardising the age at which a person is considered an adult for the purposes of (a) concessionary travel fares, (b) taxation rates for clothing, (c) purchasing cigarettes, (d) driving, (e) concessionary entertainment rates and (f) other purposes. [50869]
Norman Baker: There are no plans to standardise the age at which a person is considered an adult for these purposes.
(a) The fare structure and the level of fares charged by bus operators, including the age at which discounts on buses are offered to young people, are matters for the commercial judgment of operators.
(b) Certain goods and services are reduced-rated, zero-rated, exempt, or outside the scope of VAT. Clothing that is made for young people under the age of 14 is zero-rated. Agreements with our European partners do not allow us to introduce new zero rates or extend existing ones.
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(c) The age of sale of tobacco products in England was raised in 2007 from 16 to 18 years. There are no plans to change or review these arrangements.
(d) There are no plans to change the legal minimum age for driving.
(e) A range of promotional and discounted rates for entertainment and other purposes are available on a commercial basis—the age at which they are available is a matter for those promoting the discount or concession.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what cost-benefit analysis his Department has undertaken in respect of reopening Waterloo International railway terminal for (a) domestic and (b) international rail services. [49848]
Mrs Villiers: The Government wish to see the former Eurostar platforms at Waterloo International terminal brought back into use for domestic passenger services. The Department for Transport is engaged in negotiations with Stagecoach South West Trains to agree the best solution in terms of operational effectiveness and value for money for taxpayers. A cost-benefit analysis will be undertaken to ensure that any agreement does represent value for money.
No cost-benefit analysis has been undertaken by the Department with regards to any operation of international services into Waterloo International.
19. Mr Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of progress by GP pathfinder consortia in delivering improvements in NHS services. [52567]
23. Richard Graham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of progress by GP pathfinder consortia in delivering improvements in NHS services. [52571]
Mr Lansley: I can report that pathfinder consortia now cover almost 90% of the country. These consortia are receiving support through the Pathfinder Learning Network, which is an online resource offering a range of tools and resources. The network includes a number of examples of where clinician-led commissioning is already delivering benefits for patients.
24. Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to extend the choice patients have over the treatment they receive from the NHS. [52572]
Mr Lansley: The Government have consulted on proposals to give patients greater choice and control over their care and treatment. We have deferred publication of our response to the consultation to enable us to take into account the results of the listening exercise.
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Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what amendments he plans to table to the Health and Social Care Bill. [52561]
Mr Lansley: As I told the House on 4 April 2011, Official Report, columns 767-69, we are taking the opportunity presented by a natural break in the legislative process to pause, listen, reflect and improve our plans for modernisation of the health service.
We will consider what amendments are required in light of this.
Pat Glass: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements he has made for continuity of provision of existing hospital services under his proposed reforms of the NHS; and if he will make a statement. [52569]
Mr Lansley: Commissioners will remain responsible for securing health services to meet the needs of their populations.
Under the provisions of the Health and Social Care Bill, Monitor would support commissioners in this through the additional regulation of ‘designated services’. This will give additional safeguards for services not currently provided under existing legislation.
As a last resort, in the event of failure, continued provision of ‘designated services’ would be secured through a process of special administration.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) when he expects the outcome of the pilot studies on accident and emergency and urgent care centre nomenclature in (a) East Lancashire, (b) Manchester and (c) Salisbury to be published; [51598]
(2) To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken in the NHS in the (a) North West and (b) South West to standardise the definition of (a) accident and emergency and (b) urgent care centre for the purposes of assisting commissioners and creating clarity for patients; and if he will make a statement. [51599]
Mr Simon Burns: Work is being carried out by NHS North West working with colleagues in NHS South West to look at the possibility of creating a common offer for England to ease navigation of the urgent and emergency care system for patients. No date has been set for publication of the findings.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with what (a) clinical and (b) operational standards his Department requires air ambulance services to comply. [51814]
Mr Simon Burns: From April 2011 providers of independent sector ambulance services (including air ambulances) are required to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
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The CQC is the independent regulator of health and adult social care providers in England. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the 2008 Act) all providers of regulated activities, including national health service and independent providers, have to register with CQC and meet a set of essential requirements of safety and quality.
The 16 registration requirements reflect the essential levels of safety and quality of care that people should be able to expect, and are built around the main risks inherent in the provision of health and adult social care services. These are set out in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date he expects all air ambulance providers to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. [51815]
Mr Simon Burns: Since 1 April 2011, transport services by means of a vehicle which is designed for the primary purpose of carrying a person who requires treatment, has been a regulated activity under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. The Care Quality Commission is currently completing the registration of air ambulance and other providers requiring registration from April 2011.
Mr Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much funding each ambulance trust has provided to air ambulance charities in England in each of the last 10 years. [51816]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not hold this information centrally.
In order to strike an appropriate balance between the cost to operate air ambulances, and the role they can play in assisting the national health service in delivering emergency care, the NHS has—since 1 April 2002—normally met the cost of clinical staff on air ambulances. However, it remains for NHS trusts to decide whether they provide any additional funding to air ambulance charities.
Simon Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to implement the provisions of Commission Directive 2011/8/EU restricting the production, import and retail of polycarbonate infant bottles manufactured using Bisphenol A; and if he will make a statement. [51259]
Anne Milton: Commission Directive 2011/8/EU was implemented in the United Kingdom by the Plastic Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI2011/231) and separate, equivalent, Regulations relating to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many women did not have a breast scan until more than one year after their 50th birthday in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010; and how many such women were subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. [51027]
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Paul Burstow: The Information requested is not held centrally. In England, the NHS Breast Screening Programme invites women aged 50 to 70 to be screened every three years. To make the service more convenient and accessible to women, 80% of the programme is provided by mobile screening units, which visit different areas covered by the local breast screening service in a three-year cycle. Therefore, women do not necessarily receive their first invitation in the year of their 50th birthday. As long as a woman is registered with a general practitioner, she should be invited for breast screening before her 53rd birthday. The objective is to cover as many women as possible in the three-year screening round.
In order to ensure that all women receive their first invitation for breast screening by their 50th birthday, the programme is currently being extended to women aged 47 to 49. The extension is being conducted as part of a randomisation project with women aged 71 to 73, which will give directly comparable mortality data on the effectiveness of screening in these ages. The project is being run over two three-year screening rounds, with all local screening services expected to be screening women in both age groups from 2016.
As at the end of March 2011, 43 of the 82 local screening services in England had extended, and it is anticipated a further 16 will have extended by the end of May. “The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2011/12” states that commissioners should ensure that all screening services continue to take part in the breast screening age extension randomisation project.
We will continue to work with NHS Cancer Screening Programmes to ensure local programmes begin the age extension as soon as possible.
Mr Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to reduce the numbers of primary care trusts which restrict access to cataract treatments; [51178]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of NHS patients assessed as requiring cataract treatment who have been refused treatment by (a) Portsmouth NHS and (b) primary care trusts in England in the latest period for which figures are available. [51179]
Mr Simon Burns: No such estimate has been made. Primary care trusts (PCTs) are responsible for service commissioning, taking into account the available evidence and the needs of the local population.
PCTs are required to make decisions on the funding of drugs and treatments rationally, and following proper consideration of the evidence. If a PCT decides not to fund a drug or treatment, it should explain its decision.
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cataract operations were carried out on NHS patients in each year since 1996-97. [51635]
Mr Simon Burns: The following table provided by the Information Centre for health and social care shows the number of finished consultant episodes for cataract surgery, from 1996-97 to 2009-10.
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|
|
Total episodes (1) |
| (1) The figures do not represent the number of different patients, as the same person may be admitted on more than one occasion. | |
Claire Perry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to support research into dementia. [52558]
Paul Burstow: Dementia is a priority for the coalition Government. The Ministerial Group on Dementia Research that I chair has now completed its work and produced a comprehensive set of proposals. These will be set out in a ‘Route Map for Dementia Research’, to be published before the summer recess.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51422]
Mr Simon Burns: On 17 January 2011 there were 1,741 staff in the Department with mobile communication devices.
The Department spent £738,301 during the last four quarters ending in December 2010 on mobile assets. This includes contract and usage charges.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 18 March 2011, Official Report, column 668W, on departmental public appointments, for what reasons the answer referred to a website address that is inaccessible; and how many (a) women and (b) men who held public appointments in bodies sponsored by his Department are no longer in those roles as a result of decisions to merge, close or reorganise such bodies taken since his appointment. [51442]
Mr Simon Burns:
The answer of 18 March 2011, Official Report, column 668W, included a link (web) which provides a path to the page containing all the Cabinet Office Public Bodies reports. The reports contain information of departmental public bodies and the gender of their public appointees. We are not aware of
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any reason why this should have been inaccessible as the link had been tested successfully. The full address line of the page accessed by the link is
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/ndpbs.aspx
and at the time of writing the latest version of the report is “Public Bodies 2009” which can be accessed via that page or directly at
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/Assets/PublicBodies2009_tcm6-35808.pdf
The Department is currently implementing the changes of its arm’s length bodies review and the public bodies review. The changes will be enacted from 2012 onward. Therefore, to date, there has been no direct impact on public appointments held by men and women as a consequence of decisions to merge, close or reorganise bodies sponsored by the Department.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the staff vacancy rate in his Department was in 2010-11; and what vacancy rate has been assumed in his Department’s budget for 2011-12. [51386]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department does not use or monitor a “vacancy rate” nor does it employ any dynamic measure reflecting the variation of vacancies over time. The Department is not required to report dated vacancy counts to any central data collection bodies, such as the Cabinet Office or the Office of National Statistics.
However, recently, vacancies have been reported by all Government Departments in the form of organisation charts. The latest organisational, chart for the Department can be found at:
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/structure-charts-department-health
The Department’s central budgetary calculations do not involve assumptions about vacancy counts or vacancy rates but these may be implicit in the local staff figures produced or predicted by sections and provided to the Department’s central financial management for budgetary purposes.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the use of organs from British donors for private transplants paid for by patients from overseas. [50844]
Anne Milton: NHS Blood and Transplant allocates organs for transplantation in line with directions made by the Secretary of State for Health. Priority is given to people who are in a group 1 listing, which includes people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, residents of countries with whom the UK has bilateral health agreements and certain persons who are entitled under European Union law. Arrangements may be made for the actual transplantation to be undertaken on a private basis. The organ allocation is made on the basis of clinical need. The Buggins review “Allocation of Organs to Non-UK EU Residents”, published in July 2009, found no evidence that people having their transplant as a private patient were allocated an organ more quickly.
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Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what recent representations he has received on the manufacture and supply of generic drugs for the treatment of (a) HIV/AIDS and (b) hepatitis; [50977]
(2) what recent representations he has received on the potential effects on the pharmaceutical price agreement of the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement. [51030]
Mr Simon Burns: In the period 12 May 2010 to 30 March 2011, the Department is not aware of any representations relevant to either question. However, in this period, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, as part of its regular licensing activity, has granted one licence application for a generic drug to treat HIV/AIDS, with a further six under consideration, and have one application for a generic drug to treat hepatitis under consideration.
Mr Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that its drug recovery payment by results system does not discourage treatment providers from supporting the recovery of individuals with the most intractable drug dependence. [52062]
Anne Milton: We are piloting the payment by results system. We will work in partnership with the eight local areas that will pilot this approach to co-design the detail over the next six months. This will include ensuring that providers are incentivised to continue to work with the hardest to reach and are not able to ‘cherry pick’ the easiest clients.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department spent on (a) recruitment agency fees, (b) outplacement agency fees for displaced or redundant staff and (c) staff training in the last year for which figures are available. [51394]
Mr Simon Burns: For the integrated structure (staff of grades Administrative Officer to Grade 7) no money has been spent on outplacement during the last year for which figures are available (2010-11). The Department had no contract in place as we were not then in a period of restructuring.
The Department will be putting a contract in place for outplacement services during the period of transition commencing May 2011 onwards.
For the senior civil service, the Department has spent £44,959 on recruitment agency fees from April 2010 to date.
Corporate/central departmental spend on Learning and Development (L&D) for financial year 2009-10 (the most recent complete year for which figures are available) is set out in the following table.
| £ | ||
|
|
Budget | Spend |
The figures outline corporate L&D spend only i.e. training that is funded centrally by Human Resources.
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Individual directorates also have L&D budgets. However that expenditure is not tracked and figures could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
The above figures therefore do not reflect total departmental spend on training.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether he plans to put in place a mechanism to inform patients automatically when their GP refers them for treatment by a provider in which the GP has a commercial interest under his proposals for NHS reform; [51149]
(2) what mechanism he plans to put in place to ensure that GPs do not inappropriately refer patients for treatment to companies in which they are shareholders under his proposals for NHS reform; [51150]
(3) whether GPs will be required to register any interests they have in companies to which they can refer patients for treatment. [51258]
Mr Simon Burns: As now, general practitioners (GPs) following our reforms may hold financial interests in organisations to which they refer patients or contract services. However, the Health and Social Care Bill proposes clear statutory duties on commissioners in relation to procurement and in relation to anti-competitive behaviours. A clear set of underpinning rules and guidance will be developed to apply to GP consortia, so that they have the necessary support to make decisions that are fair and transparent and avoid any perceived conflicts of interest.
In addition, the Bill also includes a requirement that each consortium's constitution sets out arrangements for decision-making and managing potential conflicts of interest.
Our proposed approach is that GP consortia should be able to proceed on the basis of 'assumed responsibility' rather than 'earned autonomy'. This will mean that consortia are free, within the legislative framework, to make the decisions that they judge are right for patients and value for money. However, there will be a clear duty on the NHS Commissioning Board, or if necessary, the economic regulator, to intervene if there are concerns that a consortium has not met its duties in relation to fairness and choice or has engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.
In addition, GPs have to follow ethical guidance published by the General Medical Council, ‘Good Medical Practice’ This sets out that any commercial interests GPs have in organisations related to health care must not affect the way they prescribe, treat or refer patients. GPs must also inform the patient if they are referring them to an organisation in which they have a commercial interest.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new GP consortia follow national health and clinical excellence commissioning guidelines. [51660]
Mr Simon Burns:
Drawing on National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) quality standards, and other sources of evidence, including NICE’S clinical
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guidelines, the NHS Commissioning Board will develop high-level commissioning guidance for general practitioner (GP) consortia. This will contain evidence and good practice on pathways, standards, outcome measures, currencies and contracting to help consortia commission the best outcomes for the patients they serve. Under the provisions in the Health and Social Care Bill, GP consortia will be required to have regard to the commissioning guidance.
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) whether the funding formula for central Government funding of GP commissioning consortia will take account of the cost of reducing health inequalities between consortia; [52086]
(2) what formula he plans to use to determine the distribution of funds between GP commissioning consortia. [52087]
Mr Simon Burns: It is intended that the National Health Service Commissioning Board will take over responsibility for commissioning guidelines and the allocation of resources for NHS services from the Department. It would be for the Board to decide how best to allocate resources in a way that supports the principle of securing equivalent access to NHS services relative to the prospective burden of disease and disability. The Health and Social Care Bill also includes a duty for the Board to narrow inequalities in access to healthcare, and the outcomes delivered by that healthcare.
During the transition to the Board, the Secretary of State for Health has asked the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA), an independent committee comprising general practitioner (GP), academics and NHS managers, to continue to oversee the formulae for the distribution of NHS resources. ACRA's work programme will include consideration of the allocation of funds to GP consortia, and will examine the issue of unmet need. However, this work programme does not pre-empt any decisions to be made by the NHS Commissioning Board.
In addition, from 2013-14, the Department will allocate a ring-fenced public health grant to local authorities, based on relative population health. A new health premium will reward communities for the improvements in health outcomes they achieve, and incentivise action to reduce health inequalities. Disadvantaged areas will see a greater premium if they make progress, recognising that they face the greatest challenges.
Further detail on the allocations and processes will be announced in due course.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on measures to ensure any (a) closures, (b) changes in entry prices and (c) changes in opening hours of local sport and leisure facilities do not adversely affect public health outcomes. [51213]
Anne Milton:
No ministerial level discussions have taken place with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on these specific issues. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
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is represented on the Cabinet Sub-Committee on Public Health which has been established to consider cross-Government issues affecting public health.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received on the potential effects on public health outcomes of the (a) closure, (b) reduced opening hours and (c) increase in entry price of local sport and leisure facilities. [51214]
Anne Milton: Our records show that since May 2010, the Department has received approximately 13 correspondence cases relating to sport and leisure facilities. Of those, three cases are related to potential effects on public health outcomes of the closure, reduced opening hours or increase in entry price of local sport and leisure facilities. We are aware of no other representations in this area.
The consultation on the public health White Paper closed on 31 March, however we have yet to complete a full analysis of responses, including any representations on these issues.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on the role of grassroots sport in achieving public health objectives. [51215]
Anne Milton: The Secretary of State for Health meets regularly with Cabinet colleagues to discuss areas of mutual interest. Grassroots community sport makes an important contribution to physical activity and therefore to public health.
The Minister of State, Department of Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for Chelmsford (Mr Burns) and I met with the Minister for Sport and the Olympics, my hon. Friend the Member for Faversham and Mid Kent (Hugh Robertson) and Jennie Price, Chief Executive for Sport England on 21 March to discuss how Sport England might contribute to the Responsibility Deal Physical Activity Network.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the timetable is for establishing the Health Research Regulatory Agency. [52487]
Mr Simon Burns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave her on 5 April 2011, Official Report, columns 832-33W.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 187W, on health services: freedom of information, what steps he is taking to prevent any potential misuse by private and voluntary providers of health-care of information secured from public sector competitors under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [51573]
Mr Simon Burns:
The Freedom of Information Act provides a statutory right of access to information held by public authorities, including those within the health
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sector. The FOI Act already includes provision for information to be exempt from disclosure if its release would, for example, be harmful or prejudicial, subject to a public interest test in some instances.
Information that is not exempt from the requirement to disclose it under the FOI Act is assumed to be released to the public at large as well as the requester.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors (a) were in post in each region in May 2010 and (b) are in post in each region at the latest date for which figures are available. [50987]
Anne Milton: The following table shows the number of health visitors in each strategic health authority (SHA) in May 2010 and December 2010, which is the latest date for which figures are available.
| Health visitors by SHA (full-time equivalent) | ||
| SHA | May 2010 | December 2010 |
| Source: The Information Centre for health and social care. | ||
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many health visitors (a) were in training in each region in May 2010 and (b) are in training in each region at the latest date for which figures are available. [50988]
Anne Milton: Figures for May 2010 are not available. Training numbers are collected annually in August. The following table shows the student population in August 2010, which are the latest available data.
| 2010-11 health visitors in training at August 2010 | |
| Strategic health authority | Health visitors 2010-11 student population |
| Source: 2010-11 Q1 Financial Information Monitoring System. | |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 105W
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information is held centrally on the number of hospitals with multi-disciplinary alcohol care teams. [50866]
Anne Milton: Information on the number of hospitals with multi-disciplinary alcohol care teams is not available centrally.
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what information his Department holds on the number of hospitals with a nurse-led alcohol liaison service. [50998]
Anne Milton: Information on the number of hospitals with nurse-led alcohol liaison services is not available centrally.
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the legal advice to Ministers on the compatibility of the investigatory and adjudications processes of the General Medical Council with the European Convention of Human Rights. [51451]
Anne Milton: Legal advice to Ministers is subject to legal professional privilege. However, I am able to refer the hon. Member to paragraphs 11.1 - 11.5 of the Government's response of 15 March 2011 to enquiries made by the Joint Committee on Human Rights in relation to the Health and Social Care Bill. This provides a detailed explanation in reply to the Joint Committee's enquiry concerning this issue. This is available on the Joint Committee on Human Rights' website:
www.parliament.uk/documents/joint-committees/human-rights/Letter_from_Andrew_Lansley_15_March.pdf
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that paediatric continence services are fully integrated with other paediatric services. [51659]
Anne Milton: The Department has worked closely with the Department for Education on the Green Paper ‘Support and Aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability—a Consultation’, which sets out proposals to improve outcomes for all ill children with disabilities and special educational needs (SEN) including those who need continence services. As part of this Green Paper, we will be working with general practitioner consortia pathfinders and others to explore the best ways of providing support for the commissioning of integrated pathways of care for children and young people with SEN or disabilities.
The Department reminded primary care trusts (through the August bulletin of The Week to NHS managers) of best practice guidance ‘Good Practice in Continence Services’, issued by the Department of Health in 2000, which recommends assessments by suitably trained individuals for incontinent patients and makes it clear
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the supply of continence products should be provided in quantities appropriate to the individual. In addition, the Department issued as part of the ‘National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services’ best practice guidance on continence issues for children with learning difficulties was published in September of 2010.
In 2007, the Department also published an exemplar pathway (patient journey) on paediatric incontinence, in conjunction with ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence).
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans the working group chaired by Dr Rowan Hillson on the uptake of insulin pumps within the NHS has to produce a progress report. [51669]
Paul Burstow: The working group chaired by Dr Rowan Hillson on the uptake of insulin pumps within the national health service has met once and is due to meet again in the early summer. It will consider the options and timing for reporting on its findings.
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 10 March 2011, Official Report, column 1199W, on epilepsy: deaths, if he will sponsor research into the level of access for people with learning disabilities to epilepsy specialists; and if he will bring forward proposals to reduce avoidable deaths amongst people with learning disabilities. [52054]
Paul Burstow: The Department's National Institute for Health Research welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including health care for people with learning disabilities. These applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the scientific quality of the proposals made.
The Government remain committed to providing access to high quality health care for people with learning disabilities as set out in “Valuing People Now (2009)”.
Health services for people with learning disabilities is identified as an improvement area in “NHS Operating Framework 2011-12”, which further demonstrates this Government's commitment to improving health outcomes for all people with learning disabilities.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to implement the recommendations of Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51277]
(2) what representations he has received on Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51278]
(3) what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Department for Education, (b) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (c) others on Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51279]
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(4) what steps he is taking to (a) assess and (b) implement the recommendations of Professor Mansell's report, “Raising Our Sights”; and if he will make a statement; [51280]
(5) what steps he is taking in response to recommendation 26 of the report by Professor Mansell, “Raising Our Sights”, on the importance of local authorities providing a base from which adults with profound and multiple learning disabilities can attend activities during the day; and if he will make a statement. [51362]
Paul Burstow: A written ministerial statement was delivered on the 10 February 2011 launching our formal response to Professor Mansell’s report, “Raising our Sights: Services for Adults with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities”. We accept and support the conclusions of the report. Copies of the report and our response have been placed in the Library.
Following the publication of Professor Mansell’s report, departmental officials have had discussions with key partners, including the Department for Education and the Department for Communities and Local Government regarding the report’s recommendations. The Green Paper on special educational needs and disabilities addressed improving transitions, including for those with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. The Green Paper was informed by learning from the cross-government Getting A Life programme. The Getting A Life sites have produced, and are now implementing, a pathway into paid employment and full lives for young people with severe learning disabilities. The Getting A Life cohort included individuals with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.
The elements of good service and good practice examples included in this report sits very clearly within the programme of work which the Government are leading to support independent living for people with learning disabilities and to support local service planning and commissioning to meet identified needs in their locality.
National health service bodies should be ensuring services meet the needs of all patients, including those with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities. The Health and Social Care Bill will translate duty onto local authorities and general practitioner (GP) consortia and place them under a new duty to agree a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This is a new requirement through which the partners at the Health and Wellbeing Board have to agree a shared strategy for commissioning, which will have regard to their Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.
Local authorities with their partner third sector organisations have responsibilities to offer services where there are assessed needs. Person centred approaches are the most positive way to ensure that individual needs are met in and across settings that are fully accessible to the individuals.
Annual GP health checks for people with learning disabilities are also a local way of ensuring all individuals with learning disabilities can access the right interventions for their health and well being.
Departmental records show that we have about 120 items of correspondence about “Raising Our Sights” report.
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Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations his Department has received on improvements to the (a) quality and (b) effectiveness of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning difficulties; [51973]
(2) what recent representations his Department has received on the feasibility of establishing personal budgets for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and provision for the training of (a) personal assistants and (b) adult social care; and if he will make a statement. [52042]
Paul Burstow: The Department does not index correspondence at that level. However, departmental records show that, since May 2010, the correspondence unit, which processes ministerial correspondence, has received 123 items of correspondence that urge the Department to accept the recommendations made in the March 2010 report ‘Raising our Sights: Services for Adults with Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities’. The report, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, includes discussions around the issues raised in this PQ.
Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps his Department is taking to work with local authorities in England to increase the (a) quality and (b) effectiveness of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning difficulties; [51975]
(2) what discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the feasibility of personal budgets for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities, including provisions for the training of (a) personal assistants and (b) adult social care staff; and if he will make a statement; [52016]
(3) what steps his Department is taking to (a) monitor and (b) assess the quality and effectiveness of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement; [52041]
(4) what assessment his Department has made of the feasibility of establishing personal budgets for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and provision for the training of (a) personal assistants and (b) adult care staff; and if he will make a statement; [52043]
(5) what steps his Department is taking to ensure that adult social care staff receive the training required to support people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement; [52044]
(6) what his policy is on steps to ensure that (a) people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and (b) local families play a prominent role in developing the skills and training of adult social care staff working with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [52045]
Paul Burstow:
The Department is not directly involved in monitoring or assessing adult social care staff. It is the responsibility of local social care employers to
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monitor and assess the quality and effectiveness of staff they employ, including those who support people with profound and multiple learning disabilities.
The Department is not directly involved in the training of adult social care staff. It is the responsibility of local social care employers to ensure their staff receive the appropriate training required to undertake their job. It is for individuals receiving personal budgets to determine how best to use the funding, including the training of their care staff.
The Care Quality Commission has a responsibility to make sure better care is provided for everyone. They focus on quality and act swiftly to eliminate poor quality care and ensure care is centred on people’s needs and protects their rights.
The “Vision for Adult Social Care”, published in 2010, challenged councils to provide a personal budget to all eligible people, including some of those with profound and multiple learning disabilities, as a way of giving people choice and control about their care.
The “Vision for Adult Social Care” made it clear that the reform of health and social care should have patients in the driving seat. We also provide funding to the General Social Care Council to ensure that patient representatives are involved in the design of social work degrees.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what steps he is taking to improve access to public swimming pools for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement; [51270]
(2) if he will take steps to ensure public swimming pools play a role in the delivery of place-shaping for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [51272]
Paul Burstow: The United Kingdom Government ratified the UN convention on the rights of disabled people ("the convention") on 8 June 2009. The convention makes it explicit that disabled people have and should enjoy the same human rights as everyone else. It applies to all disabled people and covers all areas of life including education, employment, health, culture, liberty and accessibility. However, decisions about how best to improve access to public swimming pools for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities are a matter for local authorities and their elected members.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) other organisations on the dissemination of good practice in the provision of access to public swimming pools for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [51271]
Paul Burstow: The Department has not had any discussion with the Local Government Association or other organisations on this issue. This is a matter for local determination.
The United Kingdom Government ratified the UN convention on the rights of disabled people (“the convention”) on 8 June 2009. The convention makes it
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explicit that disabled people have and should enjoy the same human rights as everyone else. It applies to all disabled people and covers all areas of life including education, employment, health, culture, liberty and accessibility.
George Hollingbery: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish the most recent advice he has received on the merits of including leprosy in the list of notifiable diseases. [50751]
Anne Milton: The Health Protection Agency has advised the Department that leprosy should remain a notifiable disease so that appropriate public health action can be taken where appropriate, such as in cases where infectious leprosy is diagnosed. Leprosy is subject to a global eradication programme and so knowledge of imported cases in the United Kingdom is important. The list of notifiable diseases was subject to public consultation in 2009. No comments were received about leprosy.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS has spent on maternity services in 2009-10; and what proportion of total NHS spending this represented. [51228]
Anne Milton: In 2009-10, primary care trusts spent £2.407 billion on secondary health care relating to maternity services. This represents approximately 2.5% of the total national health service revenue expenditure in 2009-10 of £95.587 billion.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many maternity support workers there were in each NHS trust on the most recent date for which figures are available. [51433]
Anne Milton: The information is shown in the following table.
| NHS hospital and community health services: Maternity Services support staff in England by strategic health authority area and by organisation as at 30 December 2010 | |
|
|
Headcount |
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|
Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
26 Apr 2011 : Column 112W
|
Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
|
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust |
|
26 Apr 2011 : Column 113W
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|
The Royal Bournemouth and Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust |
|
| Notes: 1. Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. When overall headcount figures are split into sub categories the sum of the sub totals may exceed the overall sum due to inclusion of staff in multiple sub categories. 2. Maternity support workers include: Maternity nursery nurse, nursing assistant auxiliary, health care assistant, support worker, nurse learner. 3. Data Quality: The NHS Information Centre for health and social care seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality where changes impact on figures already published. This is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. 4. Monthly data: As from 21 July 2010 The NHS Information Centre has published experimental, provisional monthly NHS work force data. As expected with provisional, experimental statistics, some figures may be revised from month to month as issues are uncovered and resolved. The monthly work force data is not directly comparable with the annual work force census; it only includes those staff on the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) (ie it does not include primary care staff or bank staff), it also includes locum doctors (not counted in the annual census). There are also new methods of presenting data (headcount methodology is different and there is now a role count). This information is available from September 2009 onwards at the following website: www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/provisionalmonthlyhchsworkforce Source: The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care Monthly Workforce Statistics. | |
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been paid out in respect of (a) settled claims and (b) settled claims arising from maternity care under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts since 31 August 2010. [51435]
Mr Simon Burns: The data requested were supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) in the following table and include payments made from 1 September 2010 under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts as at 31 March 2011.
| Specialty | Payments made (£) |
The NHSLA does not reference claims to maternity care on its database. Obstetrics specialty claims have been supplied as an alternative. The data include payments made for claims settled prior to 1 September 2010 but where a payment was made for those claims from that date.
Chris Skidmore:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to the NHS was of treatment
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carried out by
(a)
the private sector,
(b)
independent sector treatment centres,
(c)
the voluntary sector and
(d)
other sectors including local authorities on behalf of the NHS in each financial year since 1997; and what proportion of NHS expenditure payments to each sector represented in each year. [51646]
Mr Simon Burns:
The following table shows expenditure by national health service commissioners (primary care
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trusts) in England on the purchase of NHS treatment from non-NHS providers for financial years 2006-07 to 2009-10, broken down by the provider categories requested. For each year expenditure on each provider category is expressed as a proportion (%) of total NHS revenue expenditure, with totals in the final row.
Data were not collected on expenditure as between different non-NHS providers prior to 2006-07.
| Expenditure by primary care trusts on the purchase of healthcare from non-NHS bodies 2006-07 to 2009-10 | ||||||||
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | |||||
|
|
£ million | % | £ million | % | £ million | % | £ million | % |
| Source: Audited PCT summarisation schedules 2006-07 to 2009-10 | ||||||||
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of midwives working in the NHS in England worked (a) part-time and (b) full-time in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and what definition of (i) part-time and (ii) full-time were used for these purposes. [51224]
Anne Milton: The following table shows the working patterns for midwives over the last 10 years.
| NHS hospital and community health services: qualified midwifery staff in England by nature of contract as at 30 September each year | ||||||
| Headcount and percentage headcount | ||||||
|
|
Full time | Part time | Bank/unknown | All staff | Full- time (%) | Part- time (%) |
| (1) Headcount totals are unlikely to equal the sum of components. Further information on the headcount methodology is available at: http://www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/workforce/nhs-staff-numbers/monthly-nhs-hospital-and-community-health-service-hchs-workforce-statistics-in-england--january-2011-provisional-experimental-statistics Notes: 1. Percentages are based on the number of staff whose contracts are known. 2. ‘Part-time’ is defined in the non-medical workforce census as anything less than the standard contracted full-time hours of 37.5 hours a week. Source: The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care non-medical workforce census. | ||||||
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the age profile is of the midwives employed by the NHS. [51225]
Anne Milton: The age profile of midwives employed in the national health service in England is as follows:
| Midwives by age as at 30 September 2010 | |
| Age | Headcount |
| Note: Data on the age of bank staff is not available. Source: The NHS Information Centre for Health and Social Care 2010 non-medical workforce census. | |
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) stand-alone midwife-led maternity units and (b) midwife-led maternity units situated alongside consultant-led maternity units there are in each strategic health authority area; and what the location of each such unit is. [51226]
Anne Milton: The number of midwife-led maternity units in each of the strategic health authorities (SHA) is provided in the following table. Information to distinguish stand-alone midwife-led maternity units and midwife-led maternity units situated alongside consultant-led maternity units is not held centrally.
|
|
Units |
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The addresses of each of these midwife-led units has been placed in the Library.
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many places for student midwives will be commissioned in each region in the 2011-12 academic year. [51410]
Anne Milton: The information requested is shown in the following table.
| Planned Midwifery Training Commissions 2011-12 | |
|
|
Number |
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many student midwives were in receipt of a bursary in the 2009-10 academic year; what the average bursary paid to a student midwife was in that year; and what the cost to his Department was of bursaries paid to student midwives in that year. [51434]
Anne Milton: The number of midwifery students who held a bursary, the average bursary paid to those students and the total cost of all bursaries paid to student midwives in academic year 2009-10 can be found in the following table.
| 2009-10 | |
| (1 )Includes nil award holders (European Union fees only students and students whose living allowance element of the bursary has been reduced to nil after income assessment). (2) Includes the basic award, all supplementary allowances and one off payments. Note: All figures are round to the nearest pound. Source: NHS Student Bursaries Services Authority | |
Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the application of EU competition law to NHS organisations which wish to merge. [50944]
Mr Simon Burns:
Clause 65 of the Health and Social Care Bill makes provision for mergers involving national health service foundation trusts to be considered by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) under the Enterprise Act 2002. This ensures that there is a fair playing field for all providers of health care services. This replaces the current system whereby the Co-operation and Competition Panel advises Monitor on the impact of such mergers between NHS foundation trusts and Monitor takes the
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decisions as to whether the merger can go ahead, whether remedies are required or whether the merger cannot go ahead. The OFT currently considers mergers between NHS foundation trusts and private providers.
For a merger to be under European merger law a number of conditions need to be met, including requiring a proportion of turnover to be in other member states. As NHS providers are unlikely to have any significant turnover in other member states, we think that European merger law is unlikely to apply.
Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effect of EU competition law on the ability of NHS organisations to provide an integrated care service in cases where the co-operation of two or more NHS organisations is required. [50945]
Mr Simon Burns: Co-operation and competition are not mutually exclusive. Co-operation remains a crucial part of the delivery of national health service-funded services where it delivers improvements in quality, innovation and productivity for the benefit of patients. To this end, section 72 of the NHS Act 2006 places NHS providers under a duty to co-operate.
One of the key aims of the reforms, as set out in existing departmental procurement guidance, is to promote greater collaboration and dialogue between general practice clinicians and clinicians in provider organisations. This will ensure that commissioned pathways across provider boundaries are clear and safe and that patients receive seamless provision that is responsive to their needs.
However, agreements between providers and commissioners that preclude competition and are likely to have an adverse effect on patients and taxpayers are not permitted. Such anti-competitive behaviour may include agreements between competing service providers to share geographic areas or customers, to co-ordinate their bids or to limit output and innovation. Where services are commissioned on an Any Qualified Provider basis, commissioners will need to ensure that those services (and the associated patient outcomes) are specified in a way that does not give an unfair advantage to established providers. The Competition Act offers protection against this sort of behaviour by giving a general prohibition on agreements that prevent, restrict or distort competition.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residential drug and alcohol treatment places are available in NHS facilities; and what estimate he has made of the change in the number of such places during the comprehensive spending review period. [50919]
Anne Milton: This information is not collected centrally.
However, each local drug partnership in England will have information on the level of local provision for drug dependency and up to date contact details for each partnership can be found via the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse website. The regional teams section of the site provides links to the details of each local partnership. This is available at:
www.nta.nhs.uk/regional.aspx
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Commissioning of alcohol residential rehabilitation services is the responsibility of local adult social services departments. Adult social services are active partners in drug partnerships and often co-ordinate their activity for alcohol clients with the partnership.
Andrew George:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the basis was for each of the 100 largest
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settled claims awarded under the Clinical Negligence Scheme for Trusts; how much was paid in each case; and which of these claims arose from maternity care. [51229]
Mr Simon Burns: The data requested were supplied by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) in the following table. The NHSLA does not record maternity as a separate specialty, although we would expect the majority of maternity claims to fall under obstetrics.
| The 100 largest settlements under Clinical Negligence Schemes Trusts as at 31 March 2011 | ||||
| Total damages agreed | Total damages paid (£) as at 31 March 2011 | Estimate of amount (£) yet to be paid | Basis for award | Speciality |
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Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the NHS in each of the next five years of financing the hospital contracts entered into under the private finance initiative in the last 15 years. [51454]
Mr Simon Burns: The most recent estimate of the total annual payments for national health service bodies under signed private finance initiative (PFI) contracts for hospital building schemes for 2011-12 to 2015-16 are shown in the following table.
|
|
Total annual estimated PFI payments (£ million) |
The payment figures include not just the financing costs for the initial construction but all the other services such as building maintenance and support services (cleaning, catering, portering etc.) provided over the lifetime of the contract. The figures also include an annual uprate assumption for inflation of 2.5%.
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Mr Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason there is a difference between the departmental expenditure limits for the NHS (Health) for 2010-11 in (a) the 2010 spending review and (b) the 2011 Budget. [50946]
Mr Simon Burns: The 2010-11 resource departmental expenditure limit for the NHS (Health) baseline in the 2010 spending review is £98.7 billion (Table 1 on page 10—CM 7942).
The 2010-11 NHS (Health) estimate in the 2011 Budget is £98.4 billion (Table 2.4 on page 48—HC836).
The reduction of £300 million between the 2010 spending review and the 2011 Budget has occurred because the 2011 Budget reflects the Department's latest forecast of expenditure for 2010-11, an underspend of around £300 million.
The 2010-11 capital departmental expenditure limit for the NHS (Health) baseline in the 2010 spending review is £5.1 billion (Table 2 on page 11—CM 7942).
The 2010-11 NHS (Health) estimate in the 2011 Budget is £4.5 billion (Table 2.4 on page 48—HC836).
The reduction of £550 million between the 2010 spending review and the 2011 Budget is due to:
the figures in the 2011 Budget Report reflecting the Department's latest forecast of expenditure for 2010-11, an underspend of around £350 million; and
HM Treasury having adjusted the 2010-11 capital DEL to include fiscal stimulus and Warm Front funding in the 2010 spending review baseline. This funding had been transferred from the Department's 2010-11 DEL.
By way of comparison, the resource underspend in 2009-10 was £1.407 billion and the capital underspend in 2009-10 was £230 million.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the costs to the NHS of his announcement of 4 April 2011 of a delay in the implementation of NHS reforms; and if he will make a statement. [51947]
Mr Simon Burns: The cost of the Government’s modernisation proposals were published in the impact assessment for the Health and Social Care Bill. The estimated national cost is £1.4 billion. These figures are our best estimates at this time, but may change in light of the outcome of the current listening exercise.
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsLegislation/DH_123583
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent from the public purse on the establishment of the Office of Health Professions Adjudicator. [51355]
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Anne Milton: The amount spent on the establishment of the Office of Health Professions Adjudicator is shown in the following table.
|
|
Spend (£) |
| (1) Indicative 2010-11 year end accounts will be published 7 April 2011, so this figure may be subject to change. | |
Owen Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will publish each submission to his Department’s consultation on the future of the Office of Health Professions Adjudicator. [51356]
Anne Milton: In line with a commitment made to the Health and Social Care Bill Committee on 29 March 2011, submissions to the Department’s consultation on “Fitness to Practice Adjudication for Health Professionals: Assessing Different Mechanisms for Delivery” will be published on the Department of Health website as soon as practicable, after the redaction of personal data where necessary in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and the Department’s Information Charter.
This will be subject to two instances where, in line with the express wishes of the respondents, the identities of those respondents, and the terms of the response of one of them, cannot be published.
Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of introducing GP-led commissioning on access to (a) physiotherapy and (b) community-based therapeutic exercise for people recovering from fragility fractures. [51091]
Mr Simon Burns: Subject to the passage of the Health and Social Care Bill through Parliament, general practitioners (GPs) will be given real responsibility to ensure that commissioning decisions are underpinned by clinical insight and knowledge of local healthcare needs. GPs, in partnership with other local healthcare professionals such as therapists and community nurses, are best placed to understand the health needs of local populations and how to work with their local populations to design services that meet those needs.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prescriptions were issued in Bassetlaw constituency in 2010. [51378]
Mr Simon Burns: The information is not available in the format requested.
The number of prescription items dispensed in the community within the United Kingdom, which were written in the Bassetlaw primary care trust area in 2010 was 2,230,849.
Notes:
1. This information was obtained from the Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool (PACT) system, which covers prescriptions prescribed by general practitioners, nurses, pharmacists and others in England and dispensed in the community in the United Kingdom. For data at primary care trust (PCT) level, prescriptions written by a
26 Apr 2011 : Column 125W
prescriber located in a particular PCT but dispensed outside that PCT will be included in the PCT in which the prescriber is based. Prescriptions written in England but dispensed outside England are included. Prescriptions written in hospitals or clinics that are dispensed in the community, prescriptions dispensed in hospitals, dental prescribing and private prescriptions are not included in PACT data.
2. Prescriptions are written on a prescription form known as a FP10. Each single item written on the form is counted as a prescription item.
Source:
Prescribing Analysis and CosT tool (PACT) system.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the change in the level of expenditure which will arise from allocating the functions of primary care trusts to other organisations under his proposals for NHS reform. [50836]
Mr Simon Burns: It is intended that the National Health Service Commissioning Board would take responsibility from the Department of Health for commissioning guidelines and the allocation of resources for NHS services. In addition, the board would be responsible for commissioning certain services, including specialised services, worth around £10 billion, primary medical services, worth around £8 billion and other family health services, worth over £3 billion.
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Work is continuing to refine these estimates, as well as estimates of the value of other services, such as the public health responsibilities that would transfer from primary care trusts to Public Health England, including its grants to local authorities.
The proposed restructuring will enable the costs of administration across the health system to be reduced by one third in real terms, delivering savings of over £5 billion by 2014-15 and £1.7 billion every year thereafter. All of these savings will be available to re-invest in patient care.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent staff have been made redundant in each primary care trust in 2010-11; and what the overall cost of such redundancies has been in each primary care trust. [51948]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested is not held centrally.
The number of staff made redundant in each primary care trust (PCT) by headcount is available for the first three quarters (April 2010 to December 2010) of 2010-11. This is shown in the following table. A breakdown by each PCT has been placed in the Library.
| Quarter 1 2010-11 | Quarter 2 2010-11 | Quarter 3 2010-11 | |||||||
|
|
April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December |
| Source: Data extracted from electronic staff record and validated by strategic health authorities with trusts | |||||||||
The data for quarter 4 (January 2011 to March 2011) 2010-11 will be published at the end of June 2011.
From 2010-11, there is a HM Treasury financial reporting manual requirement for the NHS audited summarisation schedules to further analyse termination benefits into the number and cost of compulsory and other exit packages by cost banding.
This data will be available once audited final accounts are published in late summer. Other exit packages will include voluntary redundancies and voluntary early retirements, however, these will not be separately identifiable from the data.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that no one who took early voluntary retirement from a primary care trust in 2010-11 will be re-employed by a primary care trust as a result of the delays to the implementation of NHS reforms announced on 4 April 2011; and if he will make a statement. [51944]
Mr Simon Burns: Payment of an NHS pension is made under the regulations of the scheme. Members of the scheme who take voluntary early retirement from the national health service have an actuarial reduction applied to their pension as they have retired before their normal pension age of 60 for members of the 1995 section, and 65 for members of the 2008 section. There are no restrictions on a member who has retired with an actuarial reduction subsequently returning to work in the NHS. Retired members of the 1995 section are unable to rejoin the scheme, whereas members who retired from the 2008 section are able to rejoin the scheme.
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Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy that no one who was made redundant from a primary care trust in 2010-11 will be re-employed by a primary care trust as a result of the delays to the implementation of NHS reforms announced on 4 April 2011. [51945]
Mr Simon Burns: Under NHS Agenda for Change Terms and Conditions, when a person obtains suitable alternative employment with the same or another national health service employer within four weeks of their date of redundancy, they lose their right to a redundancy payment or pension.
No penalty is incurred if a person obtains further NHS employment after a period of four weeks has passed from their date of redundancy. This is a long- standing provision confirmed when the redundancy provisions were renegotiated in 2006.
The national Mutually Agreed Resignation Scheme, which was introduced in 2010 to provide a cost effective means of delivering change in the NHS, includes “clawback” arrangement so that if an employee returns to work for the NHS within six months of their last day of employment they will be required to repay any un-expired element of their compensation.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff took early voluntary retirement in each primary care trust in 2010-11; and what the overall cost of such early voluntary retirements was in each primary care trust. [51946]
Mr Simon Burns: The information requested on the number of early voluntary retirements in primary care trusts is not held centrally.
From 2010-11, there is a HM Treasury Financial Reporting Manual requirement for the national health service audited summarisation schedules to further analyse termination benefits into the number and cost of compulsory and other exit packages by cost banding.
This data will be available once audited final accounts are published in late summer. Other exit packages will include voluntary redundancies and voluntary early retirements, however these will not be separately identifiable from the data.
Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2010, Official Report, column 194W, on surgery, what proportion of operations cancelled were urgent operations in each year since 2002-03. [52290]
Mr Simon Burns: Information is not collected centrally on all operations cancelled by the national health service. The Department only collects information on the number of urgent operations cancelled for non-clinical reasons and the number of elective operations cancelled “at the last minute” for non-clinical reasons. These figures are shown in the following table.
| Financial year | Number of urgent operations cancelled (1) | Number of elective operations cancelled at the last minute (2) |
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| (1 )The number of urgent cancellations apply to both emergency and elective operations. (2 )The number of elective operations cancelled at the last minute includes operations cancelled on the day of operation or day of admission. Other cancellations are not captured in these figures. (3 )Data for 2010-11 up to February 2011 only (urgent operations cancelled) and up to December 2010 (for elective cancellations). | ||
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to announce whether regulations will be revoked under the Government's one-in, one-out policy as a result of the introduction of a tobacco display ban. [50815]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department scrutinises all measures, as part of the flow of regulation, to identify outs for the one-in, one-out regulatory management system. This is a continuous process.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will assess the capacity of supermarkets to comply with proposals for a tobacco display ban. [50816]
Anne Milton: The Impact Assessment included in the Explanatory Memorandum to the Tobacco Advertising and Promotion (Display) (England) Regulations 2010, sets out the Department's assessment of the likely impact on retailers of implementing the legislation to end displays of tobacco products in shops in England.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2011, Official Report, column 775W, on tobacco: sales, with which representatives of retailers his Department is working to develop guidance. [51357]
Anne Milton: The legislation ending tobacco displays in shops in England will come into effect in the first instance for large shops on 6 April 2012 and for other shops on 6 April 2015. Departmental officials are currently developing guidance for large shops. The Department will continue to engage with the British Retail Consortium and the Association of Convenience Stores as representatives of large retailers, as well as the supermarket chains Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, Morrisons, Waitrose and the Co-operative.
Mr Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to his answer of 21 March 2011, Official Report, column 775W, on tobacco: sales, whether the appropriate Government Ministers included the members of the Reducing Regulation Committee. [51358]
Anne Milton: The appropriate Government Ministers did include the Reducing Regulation Committee.
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Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what his Department's policy is on support for fully independent transplant units; and what fully independent transplant units there are in England and Wales; [51987]
(2) what the name is of each transplant centre in England and Wales; and which such centres have been subject to investigation by his Department arising from concern over clinical outcomes in the last five years for which figures are available. [51988]
Anne Milton: Transplantation is undertaken in national health service and private hospitals across the United Kingdom. There are no fully independent transplant centres as such, as all centres in England and Wales, whether they undertake transplants from living or deceased donors, are required to comply with the provisions of the Human Tissue Act 2004; ensure all living donation is authorised by the Human Tissue Authority and notify all procurement and transplantation of organs to NHS Blood and Transplant. From August 2012, all centres undertaking transplantation will also need to be licensed to meet the requirements of the EU Organ Directive 2010/53/EU. The centres, and the town or city in which they are based, are detailed in the following table.
In the last five years the National Commissioning Group has undertaken two investigations where concerns have arisen over clinical outcomes. These are an external review of the heart and lung transplant service at Papworth hospital in 2007 and a review of outcomes in the heart transplant service at Harefield hospital in 2008.
|
|
Centre |
| (1) Paediatric Designated Centre. | |
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Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the mortality rate at (a) 30 days and (b) one year was for patients at each transplant unit in England in the latest period in which figures are available. [52039]
Anne Milton: To estimate patient survival rates following transplant, patients are followed up until either death or the 30th day, one year or five year time point is reached. The mortality rates at 30 days are only held for cardiothoracic transplants. Unadjusted and risk-adjusted survival rates and 95% confidence intervals are given for each centre in the following tables based on data from the UK Transplant Registry maintained by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT).
The risk-adjusted rate gives an estimate of what the survival rate at a centre would have been if they had had the same mix of patients as that found across all centres.
The confidence interval rate gives an indication of the uncertainty or precision of an estimate, and is influenced by the number of transplants a particular centre undertakes. Estimates from larger data sets tend to be more precise and meaningful than those from smaller data sets. Confidence intervals are calculated with a stated probability, usually 95%.
Survival rates are not presented if there are five or fewer transplants at a centre in a given time period. Where there were no transplant failures or patient deaths within the post-transplant period of interest, the survival estimate is shown as 100% and a confidence interval is not shown as it cannot be estimated.
| Table 1: One year patient survival rates: deceased (kidneys), risk adjusted | |||
| Centre | Number of transplants | Survival estimate (%) | 95% confidence interval |
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| Table 2: One year patient survival (pancreas) | |||
| Centre | Number of transplants | Survival estimate (%) | 95% confidence interval |
| Table 3: One year patient survival (liver) | |||||
| Centre | Number of transplants | Survival estimate (%) | 95% confidence interval | Risk adjusted survival estimate | Risk adjusted survival estimate 95% confidence interval |
| Table 4: 30 day patient survival (heart) | |||||
| Centre | Number of transplants | Survival estimate (%) | 95% confidence interval | Risk adjusted survival estimate | Risk adjusted survival estimate 95% confidence interval |
| Table 5: 30 day patient survival (lung) | |||||
| Centre | Number of transplants | Survival estimate (%) | 95% confidence interval | Risk adjusted survival estimate | Risk adjusted survival estimate 95% confidence interval |
| Table 6: One year patient survival (heart) | |||||
| Centre | Number of transplants | Survival estimate (%) | 95% confidence interval | Risk adjusted survival estimate | Risk adjusted survival estimate 95% confidence interval |
| Table 7: One year patient survival (lung) | |||||
| Centre | Number of transplants | Survival estimate (%) | 95% confidence interval | Risk adjusted survival estimate | Risk adjusted survival estimate 95% confidence interval |
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Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2011, Official Report, columns 234-5W, on alternatives to prison, in what circumstances probation services would prepare a pre-sentence report to assist magistrates with their sentencing decision where a curfew or unpaid work would be appropriate for an offender but where he or she (a) has no fixed abode and (b) has advised the court of plans to leave the UK for a long time or permanently. [52341]
Mr Blunt: Probation Trusts will provide a pre-sentence report if requested by the court. The pre-sentence report will provide information on the offender that will help the court to decide whether to impose a community order and, if so, whether particular requirements are suitable for an individual offender.
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions there were for offences under section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in each year since 2005. [51708]
Mr Blunt: There were two defendants found guilty at all courts for offences under section 11 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in England and Wales for the year 2006, and there were no defendants found guilty for the years 2005, and 2007 to 2009 (latest available).
Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication on 26 May 2011.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) with reference to his Department's response to the consultation on proposals for the reform of civil litigation funding and costs, how he expects costs arising from expert reports in cases of injuries of maximum severity on the cost of future accommodation, care costs, rehabilitation and medical reports outside the Association of Medical Reporting Organisations agreement to be met; [52199]
(2) how the cost of expert reports on liability and medical reports outside the Association of Medical Reporting Organisation's agreement will be funded in cases of occupational disease under his proposals for reform of civil litigation funding; [52221]
(3) how the cost of expert reports on liability for accidents at work will be funded under his proposals for civil litigation funding; [52222]
(4) how the cost of medical reports outside the Association of Medical Reporting Organisation's agreement will be funded under his proposals for civil litigation funding. [52223]
Mr Djanogly: The Government will continue to engage with claimant and defendant representatives to ensure that joint expert reports can be commissioned wherever possible. Under our proposals, claimants would also have the option of paying the disbursement costs themselves, or taking out after the event insurance to cover disbursements, paying the premium themselves except in clinical negligence claims. As announced in Reforming Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's Recommendations: The Government Response Cm 8041, March 2011, the Government intend to permit the ATE insurance premium limited to the costs of expert reports to remain recoverable in clinical negligence claims where claimants have no alternative option for funding those reports.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what reports he has received of the cost of obtaining medical reports outside the Association of Medical Reporting Organisation’s agreement; [52224]
(2) what information his Department holds on the cost of expert reports for (a) future accommodation, (b) future care costs and (c) rehabilitation; [52449]
(3) what information his Department holds on the cost of expert reports on liability for (a) accidents at work and (b) occupational disease. [52450]
Mr Djanogly: We do not routinely collect data on expert reports as it forms part of wider expenditure on solicitors’ disbursements. In general, we do not have sufficient information to estimate the cost of expert reports for types of cases, nor for different types of report. This in part stems from the fact that for some types of personal injury cases for which we have data (notably the dataset referred to in annex A to the Jackson impact assessment), we only have data on disbursements paid by defendants, which may not equal the full cost of the disbursements.
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) hold more substantive data on disbursements for legal aid cases. This can be found in the LSC’s published statistical information (2009-10) at:
http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/aboutus/how/strategic_publications.asp
The Government will continue to engage with claimant and defendant representatives to ensure that joint expert reports can be commissioned wherever possible.
Mr Slaughter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations for
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reforming civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, whether the proportionality test would take precedence over fixed recoverable fee arrangements; and if he will make a statement; [52446]
(2) with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations for reforming civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, by what mechanism he will ensure that defendants’ legal costs are proportionate. [52451]
Mr Djanogly: The Government intend to introduce a new proportionality test in relation to recoverable costs, as recommended by Lord Justice Jackson. This test will apply to defendants in the same way as it applies to claimants. The details will be set out in due course.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations for reforming civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, (1) what incentive is provided for claimants' solicitors to pursue or defend appeals on points of law; [52452]
(2) what plans he has for the funding of claimants' costs in appeal cases on points of law. [52453]
Mr Djanogly: Claimants will be able to fund appeals in the same way that they fund cases at first instance.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations for reforming civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, in respect of the recovery of fees from claimants' general damages for past losses, whether recovery will be permitted from past special damages. [52454]
Mr Djanogly: As set out in the Government Response, the maximum success fee that a lawyer may agree with a client under a conditional fee agreement—or the payment under a damages based agreement—in personal injury cases will be subject to a cap. The cap will be 25% of damages, excluding those for future care and loss which will be protected.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations for reforming civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, in respect of the recovery of fees from claimants' general damages for pain and suffering of up to 25 per cent. against what damages recovery will be permitted in fatal accident cases where there are no such general damages. [52455]
Mr Djanogly: The 25% cap on damages, which a lawyer may agree with their clients as a success fee under a conditional fee agreement, is calculated as a percentage of all damages, excluding those for future care and loss which will be protected. The proceedings to which it applies will be set out in regulations in due course.
Mr Slaughter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations for reforming
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civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, (1) what certainty a claimant will have as to their potential costs liability when commencing a claim; [52456]
(2) what steps he is taking to avoid the means testing of claimants' income and capital. [52457]
Mr Djanogly: A regime of qualified one way costs shifting will be introduced for personal injury cases, including clinical negligence. The Government Response makes clear that we will continue to discuss with interested parties how the rules should be drafted. Qualified one way costs shifting will not be extended beyond personal injury at this stage, so the normal costs shifting rules will continue to apply in other cases.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what responses his Department received to its consultation on proposals to reform civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales on the viability of a market for after the event insurance to cover risks related to (a) disbursements only and (b) residual liability under qualified one way costs shifting; and if he will make a statement. [52458]
Mr Djanogly: As set out in the Government Response, the views of respondents to the consultation were clearly divided between general liability insurers and defendant representatives who supported the proposals, and claimant representatives and after the event (ATE) insurers who argued that recoverability of success fees and ATE insurance premiums should remain. Some respondents did express concern about the viability of the ATE market if recoverability of ATE insurance premiums is abolished. We will continue to engage with interested parties on the detail of how qualified one way costs shifting should be implemented and how expert reports can be jointly commissioned and funded.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations for reforming civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, what steps he intends to take to ensure that defendants do not exploit the caps on claimants’ costs by outspending the ability of a claimant to pursue their claim. [52459]
Mr Djanogly: The package of measures the Government are taking forward is designed to make the costs of civil litigation more proportionate. In personal injury claims, a regime of qualified one way costs shifting will be introduced, which will mean that the majority of defendants will not recover their costs in cases which they win. In other areas, the proportionality test will mean that if a winning defendant has spent a disproportionate amount on the case, they will only be able to recover a proportionate sum. Finally, it is not the claimant’s costs which will be capped by the reforms. It is the amount of damages which may be taken as part of the lawyer’s fee. In personal injury cases this will be subject to a cap of 25% of damages, excluding those for future care and loss.
Mr Slaughter:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to paragraph two of the foreword to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations for reforming civil litigation funding
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and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, what information his Department holds on the existence of a compensation culture. [52531]
Mr Djanogly: The Government believe that the current no win no fee arrangement have made it too easy to bring claims and too expensive to defend them. This has led to many examples of the compensation culture which were referred to by right hon. and hon. Members during the oral statement on 29 March 2011, Official Report, columns 173-74, and have been referred to, among others, by Lord Young of Graffham in ‘Common Sense, Common Safety’, his report last October on the operation of health and safety laws and the growth of the compensation culture.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the Government response to Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations for reforming civil litigation funding and costs in England and Wales, Cm 8041, March 2011, what estimate he has made of the extent to which the profits of liability insurance companies will change as a result of his proposals. [52532]
Mr Djanogly: A revised impact assessment was published alongside the Government Response document. As set out in Annex A of that impact assessment, the limitations of the data available mean that a full quantitative assessment of the impacts is not possible.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of women with a previous conviction have children aged under (a) 18, (b) 16, (c) 10 and (d) five years; and if he will make a statement. [52215]
Mr Blunt: While the Ministry of Justice holds information on the convictions of female offenders it does not hold information on the number of children these female offenders have.
Mr MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of the provision of interpretation services for court hearings in each of the last three years; [51700]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the quality of interpretation services provided in court hearings; and if he will make a statement. [51701]
Mr Blunt: We estimate that the annual cost of interpretation and translation services in the magistrates, crown, civil and family courts, excluding the costs of the Crown Prosecution Service and defence, is approximately £17 million.
In a written ministerial statement I made to this House on 15 September 2010, Official Report, columns 46-47WS, I announced our intention to engage with the market to explore how interpretation and translation services could be delivered more efficiently whilst ensuring that appropriate quality standards are met. The work has moved forward and we are now seeking the views of interested parties, including interpreters and interpreter organisations, on our proposals. We are clear that
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maintaining the quality of the work delivered in the courts is essential. We will consider the comments we receive before making a decision on the best way forward.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of his Department since his appointment. [51991]
Mr Djanogly: No ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer at the Ministry of Justice since the appointment of the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke).
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51520]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: No job reduction targets have been set for my Department. However, MoJ’s response to the spending review marks the beginning of a programme of radical change which will fundamentally reform the way justice is provided by 2015. I am confident that the process will lead to a transformed Ministry of Justice which is efficient, transparent, and affordable.
Estimates suggest that the Ministry will lose around 14,000 to 15,000 posts, including a significant reduction in our headquarters and administrative areas. Preliminary modelling assumptions split the posts between 10,000 in the National Offender Management Service, 3,000 in Courts and Tribunals Services and 1,000 to 2,000 elsewhere in the Department over the four-year period. Where possible, staff reduction will be through natural turnover and voluntary redundancy, avoiding compulsory redundancies if possible.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many female inmates have been reprimanded in respect of offences involving the use of drugs while in prison in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [52366]
Mr Blunt: The following table shows the number of proven drug offences committed by females in prison and dealt with under the prison adjudication process in each year from 2000 to 2009. These figures count the number of offences, not the number of individuals; one prisoner may be responsible for more than one offence. Drug offences comprise categories, “unauthorised use of a controlled drug,” “possession of a controlled drug,” “sells/delivers drugs to any person,” “administers any controlled drug” and “receives drugs during a visit.”
|
|
Number of offences |
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These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Mr Ruffley:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of those prosecuted
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for offences of
(a)
possession of and
(b)
dealing in cannabis were (i) found not guilty, (ii) fined and (iii) imprisoned in each year since 2006. [52311]
Mr Blunt: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for possession of cannabis, possession with intent to supply cannabis and dealing in cannabis, and the number and percentage of proceedings ending in acquittal, a fine or immediate custodial sentence, at all courts, in England and Wales for the year 2006 to 2009 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
| Defendants (1, 2, 3) proceeded against at magistrates courts for possession of cannabis, possession with intent to supply cannabis, and dealing in cannabis, and the number and percentage of proceedings ending in acquittal, a fine or immediate custodial sentence, at all courts, in England and Wales for the year s 2006-09 (4, 5) | |||||
| Offence code | Offence | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 (6) | 2009 |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Defendants proceeded against in one year may not have their final “case outcome” (i.e. found guilty or acquitted) in the same year (e.g. case may be committed for trial at the Crown court). (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Cannabis was reclassified from a class C drug to a class B drug on 26 January 2009. (5) Statutes and corresponding offence descriptions used: | |||||
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| Possession of cannabis: S 92/61 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 S.5(2) as amended by Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2008 Having possession of a controlled drug—Cannabis and cannabis resin; Cannabinol; Cannabinol derivatives S 92/66 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 S.5(2) Having possession of a controlled drug—Cannabis or cannabis resin. Possession with intent to supply cannabis: S 92/81 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 S.5(3) as amended by Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2008 Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply—Cannabis and cannabis resin; Cannabinol; Cannabinol derivatives S 92/86 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 S.5(3) Having possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply—Cannabis or cannabis resin Supplying or offering to supply cannabis: 92/41 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 S.4(3) as amended by Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2008 Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug (or being concerned in)—Cannabis and cannabis resin; Cannabinol; Cannabinol derivatives 92/46 Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 S.4(3) Supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug (or being concerned in)—Cannabis and cannabis resin (6) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. (7) Acquitted includes disposals: discharged and dismissed at magistrates courts and acquitted at the Crown court. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services: Ministry of Justice. |
Natascha Engel: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases of an unpaid employment tribunal award have been passed to High Court enforcement officers under the fast-track enforcement regime since 6 April 2010; and in how many such cases the unpaid award was (a) fully recovered, (b) partially recovered and (c) not recovered. [51790]
Mr Djanogly: In the period between 6 April 2010 and 31 March 2011 1,495 unpaid employment tribunal awards have been issued under the ACAS and Employment Tribunal Fast Track.
The Fast Track is operated by the High Court Enforcement Officers Association and as such they are responsible for collation of the requested performance data. These data will not be available until 13 May 2011. Thereafter I will write to the hon. Member with those details.
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions the maximum award for unfair dismissal has been awarded by an employment tribunal in each of the last five years; and what proportion of the total number of claims for unfair dismissal dealt with by the Employment Tribunal such awards represent in each of those years. [52318]
Mr Djanogly: The following table sets out the relevant data for each of the last five financial years for which figures are currently available.
| Unfair dismissal cases received, disposed of and awards made, 2005-10 | |||||||
|
|
Number of claims accepted | Number of claims disposed | Number of unfair dismissal claims successful at hearing (i.e. where an award was made) | The median level of awards made in unfair dismissal claims (£) | The level of maximum compensatory award (£) (1) | Number of awards made equal to or above the maximum award (2) | Percentage of awards equal to or above the maximum award relative to successful awards (2) |
| Source: ET Annual Reports apart from: (1) The maximum award for compensation is limited on 1 February by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills each year to the amount in the table. However awards can be above the maximum when they include a basic award element in addition to the compensatory clement. (2) Values for 2005-06 and 2006-07 are drawn from ET management information on IT systems and marked as provisional because there is no comparative data (i.e. in now destroyed hard copy files) to check them against. | |||||||
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether he has any plans to increase the use of dispute resolution in family proceedings in Wales and England. [51776]
Mr Djanogly: The Government are committed to encouraging the public to resolve their issues out of court without recourse to public funds, using simpler, more informal remedies where they are appropriate.
On 23 February I announced that we will be increasing awareness and understanding of family mediation through a new Pre-Application Protocol for Family Mediation Information and Assessment meetings. This will begin to harmonise the position between self-funding and publicly funded individuals.
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In our recent Legal Aid consultation paper we proposed that most family private law proceedings—other than cases where domestic violence or forced marriage is involved and child abduction cases—be removed from the scope of legal aid. Crucially, however, as we believe that supporting families at their most difficult moments is vitally important, it is proposed that free mediation for the types of dispute that previously were in scope will continue to those who are eligible. This will mean that those vulnerable people who need support will be able to benefit from mediation.
In 2009-10, we spent £14.4 million on publicly-funded family mediations. With the proposed legal aid reforms, it is anticipated that, subject to increased demand for publicly funded mediations, an additional £5 million will be spent annually.
We look forward to receiving the final recommendations from the independently-chaired Family Justice Review panel this autumn. This will help us to consider how the use of dispute resolution could be further encouraged across the family justice system.
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Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in which court cases a declaration of incompatibility has been made under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 since the entry into force of that Act; which provision of legislation was declared to be incompatible with which Convention right in each case; what the Government's response was to each declaration; and which such declarations are final. [52421]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: 27 declarations of incompatibility have been made under section 4 of the Human Rights Act 1998 since it came into force on 2 October 2000.
The information requested concerning these declarations of incompatibility is given in the following table.
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Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in which court judgments section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998 has been referred to as the main provision determining an interpretation of legislation set down in the judgment since the entry into force of that Act; which provisions of legislation was interpreted on this basis in each such judgment; with which Convention right was the judgment seeking the compatibility of legislation in each such case; and which of these judgments are final. [52427]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The information is not available in the form requested and could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.
Chris Heaton-Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in which court cases subordinate legislation as defined in the Human Rights Act 1998 has been quashed or declared invalid due to incompatibility with a Convention right contained in that Act since the passage of that Act; what the subordinate legislation quashed or declared invalid was in each case; with which Convention right the subordinate legislation was found to be incompatible in each such case; under which Act or Acts the subordinate legislation had been made in each case; what the response of the Government was in each such case; and which of those judgments are final. [52428]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: The information requested is not collected and could not be provided except at disproportionate cost.
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Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many immigration cases heard at tribunals required multiple sittings to determine in 2010. [51713]
Mr Djanogly: For the period 1 January to 31 December 2010, 163,903 appeals were determined by the First-tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, of which 18,095 (11%) required more than one substantive hearing.
Of the 18,095, 7,111 were ‘out of country’ immigration appeals, 6,318 were ‘in-country’ immigration appeals, 4,283 were asylum appeals, 380 were appeals against deportation and three were appeals against human rights, race discrimination or deprivation of citizenship decisions.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate has been made of the average cost to the public purse of an Immigration Tribunal hearing. [51714]
Mr Djanogly: The length and, therefore, cost of a substantive hearing within the immigration and asylum jurisdiction of Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service depends on the type of case. For this reason, an overall average cost is not used by Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service for planning purposes. However, dividing the full cost of the immigration and asylum jurisdiction by the number of oral hearings held, the average cost per hearing during the financial year 2009-10 was £687.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether he has made an impact assessment of the proposed changes to the judicial pension scheme; and what estimate he has made of the change in the opt-out rate resulting from implementation of the changes; [52270]
(2) what arrangements are in place to ensure that the changes to the judicial pension scheme are sustainable and progressive; [52271]
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(3) what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposed changes to the judicial pension scheme on part-time members of staff who are members of the scheme. [52272]
Mr Kenneth Clarke: At the spending review the Government announced changes to the level of public service pension scheme members' contribution rates which would lead to total savings of £2.8 billion a year by 2014-15, to be phased in from April 2012. Discussions about how this will be implemented are ongoing with the judiciary. The Government will put forward proposals in June, and will then begin formal consultation on the necessary changes to scheme regulations.
The Government are committed to ensuring the changes are fair to pension scheme members and to taxpayers.
An impact assessment covering the judicial pensions schemes has been produced and may be found at:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/pensions-reform/
The Treasury published an estimate of likely opt-out rates at the spending review:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_policycostings.pdf
This estimate has been scrutinised by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, and will be reviewed when the Government put forward final designs.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people aged (a) under 19 and (b) over 18 were convicted for illegally carrying (i) knives and (ii) other weapons in each police authority area in (A) 2009 and (B) 2010; and if he will make a statement. [52401]
Mr Blunt: We assume that the question refers to under 18 and over 18-year-olds and have answered accordingly.
The number of offenders found guilty at all courts for possession of knives and possession of offensive weapons (excluding knives), by age group and police force area, England and Wales 1997 to 2009, can be viewed in tables 1 to 4 as follows.
Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication on 26 May 2011.
| Table 1: Number of defendants aged under 18 years of age convicted at all courts for knife possession offences (1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2009 (2, 3) | |||||||||||||
| Police force area | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
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| ‘—’ = Nil * = Not available (1 )Includes offences of having an article with a blade or point in a public place or on school premises. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (5) Data have been omitted for West Mercia Police Force Area (for the offence of having an article with a blade or point on school premises) from 1999-2004 due to data quality issues. (6) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | |||||||||||||
| Table 2: Number of defendants aged 18 years and over convicted at all courts for knife possession offences (1) , by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2009 (2, 3) | |||||||||||||
| Police force area | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
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| ‘—’( )= Nil * = Not available (1) Includes offences of having an article with a blade or point in a public place or on school premises. (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (4) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (5) Data have been omitted for West Mercia Police Force Area (for the offence of having an article with a blade or point on school premises) from 1999-2004 due to data quality issues. (6) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||||||||||
| Table 3: Number of defendants aged under 18 convicted at all courts for possession of offensive weapons (excluding knives), by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2009 (1, 2, 3) | |||||||||||||
| Police force area | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
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| ‘—’ = Nil * = Not available (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | |||||||||||||
| Table 4: Number of defendants aged 18 years and over convicted at all courts for possession of offensive weapons (excluding knives), by police force area, England and Wales, 1997 to 2009 (1, 2, 3) | |||||||||||||
| Police force area | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
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| ‘—’ = Nil * = Not available (2) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Staffordshire Police Force were only able to submit sample data for defendants proceeded against and convicted in the magistrates courts for the year 2000. Although sufficient to estimate higher orders of data, these data are not robust enough at a detailed level and have been excluded from the table. (4) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice | |||||||||||||
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 24 March 2011, Official Report, column 1286W, on the Land Registry: electronic government, what estimate has been made of the level of fraud which has occurred since Land Registry deeds were placed online. [52439]
Mr Djanogly: No estimate has been made of the level of fraud which has occurred due to Land Registry deeds being placed online. Land Registry does however hold the following information regarding indemnity claims relating to fraud or forgery.
| Financial year | Amount paid for claims relating to fraud or forgery (£) | Number of claims paid |
Please note these figures relate to the year in which the claim was paid, not the year in which the claim was received. All figures are inclusive of costs.
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications for legal aid from residents in (a) Gateshead constituency and (b) Gateshead borough were granted in each of the last three years. [51572]
Mr Djanogly:
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) is responsible for administering the legal aid scheme in England and Wales. The LSC does not record the number of applications granted to individual people who apply for legal aid, whether successful or not, but
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instead records the number of ‘acts of assistance’. One individual may receive a number of separate acts of assistance, and one act of assistance can help more than one person.
We are re-examining the data in respect of the geographical areas requested and I will write separately with this information.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many matter starts were held back by the Legal Services Commission (LSC) in respect of family law from the total number which the LSC indicated they were tendering for in respect of family law services when the LSC initially indicated the result of the family law tender in July 2010. [51778]
Mr Djanogly: Procurement Plans were published prior to the launch of the tender process for Social Welfare Law and Family Services. These specified the volume of matter starts the LSC would advertise in each Procurement Area/Access Point (based on usage in the period September 2008 to August 2009). No matter starts were held back at any point in the tender process, although in some Procurement Areas the volume of work tendered for was less than matters available. However, the tender process for Family and Family and Housing services was quashed following successful legal challenge and so these services continue to be delivered under the 2007 Unified Contract (Civil).
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice to which organisation liability for meeting the costs from legal action arising from the Legal Services Commission's 2010 family tender exercise has been assigned. [51779]
Mr Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission will meet the cost of this legal action.
Rosie Cooper:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when, by whom at the Legal Services Commission (LSC) and on what basis a decision to
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hold back matter starts in respect of the family law tender was taken; and when and by what means such a course of action was indicated by the LSC to
(a)
its own personnel,
(b)
providers and
(c)
others. [51780]
Mr Djanogly: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 23 March 2011, Official Report, column 1120W. No matter starts have been held back at any stage in the tender process. No such decisions have therefore been made.
Sir Alan Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many requests for prior authority the Legal Services Commission received from expert witnesses in each of the last five years; how many such requests were (a) approved (i) in full and (ii) in part and (b) declined; and if he will give a breakdown by category of the reasons why such requests were declined. [52200]
Mr Djanogly: The Legal Services Commission (LSC) does not receive requests for prior authority direct from expert witnesses. Legally aided expert witnesses are contracted directly by solicitors, who are able to apply to the LSC for prior authority in respect of expert costs which are either unusual in their nature or unusually high.
The following tables show the number of requests for prior authority to instruct an expert witness in civil legal aid cases that have been (a) granted, (b) refused and (c) rejected in the last five years in England and Wales; and a breakdown by category of the reasons why requests were refused.
The figures provided for granted applications include applications which have been partially granted, as this information is not recorded separately.
Applications for prior authority are rejected when the LSC is unable to make a decision on whether prior authority should be granted because the application is in some way incomplete. Such applications are returned to the provider with a request for the information required to make a decision.
| Civil—Outcome of applications for prior authority | |||||||
| Grant | Refuse | Reject | |||||
|
|
Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Total |
| Refusal reasons (1) | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | Total |
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|
Special reasons (Caseworker uses their own wording when refusing a request) |
||||||
| (1) Some applications have more than one refusal reason. As a result the totals for this table will differ from those above. | ||||||
The following table shows the total number of requests for prior authority to instruct an expert witness in criminal legal aid cases that have been (a) granted, (b) part granted and (c) refused in the last two years in England and Wales. The information requested is only available for 2009-10 and 2010-11. Prior to this date the information was only recorded manually on the relevant case file, and could be supplied only at a disproportionate cost.
It is not possible to provide a breakdown by category of the reasons why applications were declined as the LSC caseworker uses their own wording when refusing a request rather than choosing an option from a pre-determined list. In general, applications for prior authority are only refused if they fall outside the LSC’s published guidance.
| Crime—Outcome of applications for prior authority | |||||||
| Grant | Part Grant | Refused | |||||
|
|
Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Total |
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many days on average a justice of the peace sat in the most recent year for which figures are available. [52196]
Mr Djanogly: Sittings are measured in half days. The average number of sittings for a justice of the peace for the year ending 31 March 2010 was 37.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much on average justices of the peace claimed in expenses in the most recent year for which figures are available. [52195]
Mr Djanogly: Based on provisional data, the total cost of expenses claimed by justices of the peace for the financial year ending 31 March 2011, was £17 million. This approximates to an average of £767 per claimant, per annum.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average proportion of the costs arising from a day's hearing in a magistrates court attributable to expenses paid to justices of the peace. [52197]
Mr Djanogly: It is estimated that 7% of the total day's hearings costs (excluding rent and rates of the courthouse, if applicable) are attributable to expenses paid to justices of the peace.
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Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to amend the rate of expenses payable to justices of the peace; and if he will make a statement. [52201]
Mr Djanogly: Her Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service is in discussion with the Magistrates Association and the National Bench Chairs' Forum about possible changes to the travel and subsistence allowances that magistrates receive in the course of their judicial work. No decisions have been made.
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many probation officers the National Offender Management Service employs; [52258]
(2) whether he plans to reduce the number of probation officers working for the National Offender Management Service. [52259]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not directly employ probation officers or other probation staff: they are employees of the 35 Probation Trusts, which are Non-Departmental Public Bodies sponsored by the Ministry of Justice.
As at 31 December 2010, 6,976.31 fully-qualified probation officers (full-time equivalents) were employed by Probation Trusts in England and Wales. This includes all those in the senior probation officer, senior practitioner, probation officer and practice development assessor job-groups and is the latest available staff-in-post figure for those grades. It has been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
To protect Probation Trusts and front-line probation services, the Government have undertaken a radical streamlining of NOMS, which will achieve savings of at least 33% at national and regional level. This means that the efficiency savings Probation Trusts will need to find are limited to about 10% of their expenditure over the four years of the spending review period. Like NOMS, Probation Trusts can make savings by reducing bureaucracy and finding new ways of working: this will enable resources to be concentrated on sustaining front-line provision.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to address the gap between black and ethnic minority staff and Caucasian staff in relation to performance-related pay identified in the National Offender Management Service diversity review for 2009-10; and if he will make a statement. [51964]
Mr Blunt:
The NOMS Equalities Annual Report 2009-10 reports that white staff are more likely to achieve the ‘exceeded’ marking in the Staff Performance and Development Review (SPDR) process that triggers performance pay for some grades of staff. The report expresses concern at this fact and explains that a programme of work is being taken forward to make the SPDR process more structured, and to increase the accountability
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of those giving markings through the use of moderation panels. This is taking place alongside broader programmes of work to improve performance management across the piece and to provide better support for line managers.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to his Department's publication, Solving Disputes in the County Courts, Creating a Simpler, Quicker and More Proportionate System, Consultation Paper C56, March 2011, whether his proposals for compulsory mediation apply in respect of personal injury claims. [52460]
Mr Djanogly: It is proposed in the consultation that all small claims cases are automatically referred to mediation. However, only those personal injury cases valued at under £1,000 are dealt with in the small claims track, so only those cases would come under the scope of the automatic referral. We have also asked consultees whether certain categories of cases should be exempted from the mediation process. In addition, we are consulting on the possible introduction of mediation information or assessment sessions for cases outside the small claims track. These could apply to personal injury cases, but again we are asking consultees whether certain cases should be exempted from this process.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were held in police cells in each police force area in 2010; and at what estimated cost to the public purse. [52403]
Mr Blunt: No police cells under Operation Safeguard were used in 2010. Police cells, under Operation Safeguard, have not been used since 22 September 2008 and no police cells, under Operation Safeguard, have been on stand by since the end of October 2008. I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 March 2011, Official Report, columns 550-52W, which provided the aggregated total number of prisoner nights in which an Operation Safeguard police cell was used over the last five years.
Additionally, prisoners may also be held overnight in police cells as a “lockout”. Lockouts can arise from a number of factors, including late court sittings, which can compromise the contractors' ability to deliver the prisoner to prison prior to the reception closure time.
In 2010 a total of 220 prisoners were held overnight in a police cell as a lockout.
| Number of lockouts in 2010 by police force area | |
| Police force | Total |
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Under an agreement between NOMS and ACPO, NOMS are charged a flat rate fee of £55.00 per prisoner per night for the use of these cells.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many visitors to prison were found to be in possession of illegal drugs in 2009-10; how many such visitors were referred to the police; and what steps were taken in respect of those not referred to the police. [52402]
Mr Blunt: Information on the number of visitors to prisons in England and Wales found in possession of illegal drugs is not recorded centrally. Information on the actions taken in respect of visitors not referred to police is now held at local level. To provide the information would require a detailed investigation into all local records and incur disproportionate cost.
The number of visitors to prisons in England and Wales referred to the police and arrested in relation to drugs during the period 2009-10 was 354. It is NOMS policy to refer all visitors found to be in possession of drugs to the police.
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Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of the prisoner discharge grant in each of the last five years. [52415]
Mr Blunt: The cost of discharge grants for the last five years is shown in the following table.
|
|
£000 |
Some expenditure on subsistence payments for prisoners released on End of Custody Licence during the period 2007-10 is included in the figures. To separate this amount, a survey of all prison establishments would be necessary.
The purpose of the discharge grant is to enable the prisoner to meet their immediate subsistence needs in the first week after release. Whether they are going straight into employment or applying for benefits, they will receive payment in arrears. Without a discharge grant, therefore, there would be an increased risk that prisoners would re-offend in order to meet their immediate financial needs.
Sentenced prisoners are eligible on release for a discharge grant of £46 unless certain exclusions apply. These exclusions include those serving a sentence of 14 days or less, those awaiting deportation or removal from the United Kingdom and those who are known to have in excess of £16,000 in savings (and who would therefore be ineligible for income support under the relevant regulations).
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to reduce the incidence of (a) drug and (b) mobile telephone smuggling in female prisons; and if he will make a statement. [52216]
Mr Blunt: The National Offender Management Service’s (NOMS) strategies to reduce drug and mobile telephone smuggling are designed to be implemented flexibly, based on local assessment of risk. Strategy is applied equally across the prison estate with the exception of the searching of prisoners, where slightly different arrangements apply to female prisoners.
Prisons deploy a robust and comprehensive range of security measures to reduce drug supply. These include the use of drug detection dogs, close working with the police, CCTV, use of more effective intelligence systems and mandatory drug testing.
NOMS has implemented a strategy to ‘minimise’ the number of mobile phones entering prisons, to ‘find’ phones that do get in and to ‘disrupt’ mobile phones that cannot be found.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many female inmates on the prison estate have access to (a) games consoles and (b) television; and if he will make a statement. [52217] [Official Report, 7 June 2011, Vol. 529, c. 1MC.]
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Mr Blunt: It is not possible to the give exact number of prisoners who have access to televisions and games consoles, as this changes constantly. There are currently 4,241 (at 8 April 2011) women in prison in England and Wales, and most of them have access to television. Her Majesty's Prisons Askham Grange, Bronzefield, Eastwood Park, Holloway, Low Newton and New Hall do not allow access to television where prisoners have been placed on the basic level of the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme (IEPS).
Prisoners on the enhanced level of the IEPS are allowed to have certain games consoles in possession if they pay for them themselves. The National Offender Management Service does not collect centrally the numbers of prisoners who choose to do this and there would be disproportionate cost in obtaining this number. In addition, a very small number of consoles have been purchased for shared use in association by prisoners on the enhanced level of the IEPS at the following establishments: Askham Grange, Downview, Eastwood Park, New Hall and Styal. At Bronzefield, there is a games console in the Healthcare Centre.
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on measures to increase the level of financial support available to prisoners (a) serving a custodial sentence and (b) recently released. [52443]
Mr Blunt: The Government recognise that the exclusion of offenders from accessing legal sources of funds can prevent offenders from re- integrating into the community after their release from custody, and increases the risk that they will reoffend.
To tackle the financial exclusion which offenders can experience a range of work is underway. In partnership with a range of other Government bodies and third sector organisations, officials from the National Offender Management Service are developing initiatives that will ensure that offenders who are in custody and those who have been recently released will have more timely access to state benefits, and financial services. Ministry of Justice Ministers are working with Ministers from HM Treasury and the banking sector to encourage greater availability of bank accounts to prisoners.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the amount allocated to the daily cost of food for a prisoner in a (a) prison cell and (b) police station cell was last increased. [52400]
Public sector prisons do not set a daily food allowance as the responsibility for determining prisoner food budgets lies with the governor who will set aside a realistic sum that will meet the dietary needs of the prisoner population. Meal requirements vary between establishments and are based on the prisoner population, local regimes and seasonal availability. The average cost(1) for food (including beverages) per prisoner per day in public sector prisons was £2.20 for the financial year 2010-11.
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Under the current agreement (Operation Safeguard) between NOMS and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) an all-inclusive rate is charged which includes the cost of meals and other ancillary items. This agreement was finalised in May 2009.
Prior to this, the agreement between NOMS and ACPO placed an upper limit of £12 expenditure on meals for each prisoner over a 24-hour period.
Prisoners are also held as ad-hoc lockouts (i.e. when the designated prisons reception will be closed before the prisoner's arrival time). Under an agreement between NOMS and ACPO, NOMS are charged a flat rate fee per prisoner per night for the use of these cells. This fee covers incidental expenses such as food, cleaning and administration.
(1) Costs have been calculated using available management information from the NOMS finance systems and assumes that all transactions have been allocated and recorded against the correct accounting codes.
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners received a serious injury while in prison in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010; and what the nature of each such injury was. [52260]
Mr Blunt: The following table details the numbers of serious injuries arising from assault incidents in 2009. The nature of assaults and assaulting behaviour make it complex to capture the full range of information. Given that incidents may not be witnessed or victims may be unwilling to identify perpetrators, the focus of the figures is on numbers of incidents and not individuals. As more than one type of serious injury may occur in a single assault incident the total numbers of serious injuries will be more than the number of serious assault incidents.
| Male and female assault incidents, England and Wales, 2009 | |
| Injury type | Number |
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last case, the figures may not be accurate to that level.
The figures provided are published annually on the MoJ website and those relating to 2010 are currently being verified for publication later this year. Statistical tables detailing levels of violence, including the further breakdown in to the use of weapons, fights, ages and injuries are available in MoJ Safety in Custody Assault Statistics.
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Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convicted prisoners had a home address in the St Albans constituency on the most recent date for which figures are available. [52214]
Mr Blunt: Information on a prisoner's residence is provided by prisoners on reception into prison and recorded on a central IT system. Addresses include a prisoner's home address, an address to which they intend to return on discharge and next of kin and these figures are provided in the following table.
If no address is given, a prisoner's committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which a prisoner is resident. These figures are provided separately in the following table. No address has been recorded and no court information is available for around 3% of prisoners, these figures are excluded from the answer.
The following table shows the number of convicted prisoners as at 25 March 2011 who have a recorded residential address or proxy, as described above in the constituency area of St Albans.
|
|
Number of prisoners |
The figures include convicted male and female prisoners, adults, young offenders and juveniles that are held in prisons and young offender institutions.
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to increase educational opportunities at Her Majesty's Prison Latchmere House. [51820]
Mr Blunt: As a resettlement prison for about 200 prisoners, HMP Latchmere House has a primary focus on preparing prisoners for release. Currently, about 95 prisoners are engaged in internal employment or work-based training and there is an education department that accommodates a further 20. In addition 83 prisoners attend a range of external employment or training opportunities.
The education provision in the prison includes Careers Information and Advice Services and some learning and skills to assist offenders attending work and education in the prison while waiting for external opportunities on Release on Temporary Licence (RoTL). Additional support is offered, when needed, to those prisoners working and studying elsewhere in external provision.
The Virtual Campus, a highly secure computer web-based facility gives prisoners access to assessment, learning, career development, information services opportunities and courses while in custody. This is currently scheduled to be installed in the prison later this year, creating and expanding relevant learning for prisoners.
Together with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Ministry of Justice has undertaken a review of offender learning and we plan to publish the outcome in the near future.
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Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the merits of using video-link equipment available in prisons to record interviews between police and imprisoned witnesses. [52406]
Mr Djanogly: None. However, we are looking at how video technology can improve criminal justice efficiency. As I announced on 14 December 2010, Official Report, columns 816-18, we plan to give witnesses the opportunity to give evidence in trials by live video link from a more convenient location. We have started to test the principle of police officers giving evidence in summary trials by live video link from a police station. If successful, this will pave the way for other witnesses to give evidence from a police station or other, more convenient, location rather than travelling to court.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of women with a previous conviction reoffended in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [52265]
Mr Blunt: The one year re-conviction data cover all adult offenders released from custody or commencing a court order between January and March of each year. Table 1 as follows shows the one year re-conviction for female adult offenders with previous court convictions for which data are available.
| Table1: Re-conviction rates for female adult offenders with one or more previous court convictions (2000, 2002 to 2009) | |||
|
|
Number of offenders | Number re-convicted | Re-conviction rate |
| (1) Data are not available for 2001 due to a problem with archived data on court orders. | |||
More information on the re-conviction rates is available from the Ministry of Justice website.
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/reoffendingofadults.htm
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effect on the future stability of the Road Traffic Accident Scheme of his proposals to remove the recoverability of success fees from provisions of the scheme. [52447]
Mr Djanogly:
The Government's position on this issue is set out at paragraph 26 of ‘Reforming Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales—Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's
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Recommendations: the Government Response’. The majority of claimants in road traffic accidents have before the event legal expenses insurance and will be able to pursue their claim at no additional cost. Claimant solicitors will still be able to charge their clients a success fee, but rather than receiving a fixed recoverable rate, they will be able to compete for business by setting a lower rate for claimants.
Mr Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what information his Department holds on the capacity of the Road Traffic Accident Scheme portal to expand to other areas of personal injury cases; and if he will make a statement. [52448]
Mr Djanogly: The Road Traffic Accident Scheme portal was set up by the insurance industry in conjunction with claimant lawyers to coincide with the introduction of a protocol in April 2010 for road traffic accident personal injury cases. The protocol provided guidance on how claims in such cases should be handled. The portal allows the electronic exchange of documents and is financed and maintained by the insurance industry.
The Ministry of Justice is currently conducting a public consultation on whether the Road Traffic Accident Scheme should be extended to other types of personal injury cases. At the same time, my officials are liaising with the insurance industry to establish whether the current portal can be extended to cover other PI cases or whether an alternative option might be more appropriate.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of prison sentences for (a) men and (b) women handed down in the last 12 months were for periods shorter than (i) 12 months, (ii) six months and (iii) three months; and if he will make a statement. [52263]
Mr Blunt: The number of persons sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence, by sex and sentence band at all courts, England and Wales for 2009 (latest available) can be viewed in the following table.
Please note that court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication on 26 May 2011.
| Number of persons sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence by sex and sentence band at all courts, England and Wales, 2009 (1, 2) | ||
| Outcome | Male | Female |
|
Less than six months (including those less than three months) |
||
|
Less than 12 months (including those less than three and six months) |
||
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| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | ||
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many successful appeals were made on human rights grounds against conditions or restrictions on a release licence following a custodial sentence for a terrorism offence in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010; [52028]
(2) how many successful appeals were made on the basis of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 against conditions or restrictions on a release licence following a custodial sentence for a terrorism offence in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010; [52029]
(3) how many successful appeals were made on the basis of Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 against conditions or restrictions on a release licence following a custodial sentence in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010; [52032]
(4) how many successful appeals were made on human rights grounds against conditions or restrictions on a release licence following a custodial sentence in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010; [52033]
(5) how many successful appeals were made against conditions or restrictions on a release licence following a custodial sentence in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010; [52034]
(6) how many successful appeals were made against conditions or restrictions on a release licence following a custodial sentence for terrorism offence in (a) 2006, (b) 2007, (c) 2008, (d) 2009 and (e) 2010. [52035]
Mr Blunt:
Prisoners, including those convicted of terrorist related offences, do not have an administrative right of appeal against the inclusion of conditions onto their licence. They are able to challenge the conditions of their licence, either by making representations to their probation offender manager and the probation trust which employs him or to the Parole Board or by applying for a judicial review. Information on the number of offenders who submit such challenges and/or do so successfully is not held centrally. To provide this information
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would require a manual interrogation of individual offender records. Such an exercise would incur disproportionate cost.
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what circumstances a sentencing judge may exceed sentencing guidelines when considering sentences on persistent offenders; and if he will make a statement. [51794]
Mr Blunt: The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 requires sentencers when sentencing offences committed after 6 April 2010 to follow guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council for England and Wales or its predecessor the Sentencing Guidelines Council, unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
The requirement ‘to follow’ is a requirement to sentence within the offence range set in a guideline; it does not require the court to sentence within any category range set within that offence range. Typically an offence range is divided into category ranges for offences of different categories of seriousness. Sentencers are free to sentence outside the category range if they see fit. Sentencers may sentence above the offence range if it would be contrary to the interests of justice not to do so, provided that the top of the offence range in the guideline is set lower than the maximum penalty available in law for the offence. Where the sentencer departs from the guidelines he or she must explain the reasons for doing so in open court.
Any previous convictions, where they are recent and relevant, should be regarded as an aggravating factor which should increase the severity of the sentence. This statutory aggravating factor is reflected in sentencing guidelines. The guideline “Overarching Principles: Seriousness” issued by the Sentencing Guidelines Council in 2004 states that it will be an aggravating factor that an offender has previous convictions,
“particularly where a pattern of repeat offending is disclosed”.
Sentencers are required to have regard to the guidelines when sentencing offences committed before 6 April 2010.
Mr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department has taken to disseminate its recent guidance on the law in respect of squatting. [51595]
Mr Blunt: Guidance on “Dealing with squatters in your home” was produced jointly by the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). It was initially published in November 2010 but was strengthened on 21 March 2011. The revised version was accompanied by a press notice. Both the guidance and the press notice can be viewed on the DCLG website and a shorter version of the guidance is available on the ‘DirectGov’ website. The guidance has received widespread media coverage and we have also referred to it in on many occasions in responses to correspondence and parliamentary questions on this subject.
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Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the merits of the legal framework in Scotland in respect of squatting. [51691]
Mr Blunt: We are aware of the provisions in the Trespass (Scotland) Act 1865. We will be considering these carefully as we develop our proposals in this area.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the eligibility for registration as a claims handler of Vendside Ltd. [51853]
Mr Djanogly: No assessment has been made since Vendside Ltd surrendered its registration as a claims handler under the Compensation Act 2006 in March 2010.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the charges imposed on clients for accessing files relating to miners’ compensation claims by Vendside Ltd; and if he will make a statement. [51855]
Mr Djanogly: The Secretary of State does not have the jurisdiction to assess such charges. However, Subject Access requests (SARS) made under the Data Protection Act 1998 to organisations for the personal information they hold on individuals, are normally limited to a £10 charge for each request.
Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice by what means he proposes to integrate the Youth Justice Board into his Department. [52261]
Mr Blunt: The transition of the functions of the Youth Justice Board into the Ministry of Justice is subject to the passage of the Public Bodies Bill.
The Government propose that the main functions of the Youth Justice Board should be delivered within an identifiable, dedicated section of the Ministry of Justice.
This dedicated section will be part of the Justice Policy Group and will set the coherent framework for youth justice, led by a member of the senior civil service and reporting directly to a director general and to the Minister with responsibility for youth justice.
The youth justice section will be outside of the National Offender Management Service ensuring that the commissioning of the youth secure estate continues to be driven by people who have a dedicated focus on the needs of young people.
The Ministry of Justice is working with the Youth Justice Board on the transition of their functions into the Department.
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John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has disbursed to Anguilla from its economic diversification fund in the latest period for which figures are available. [51890]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not disbursed any funds for economic diversification in Anguilla in recent years.
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations he has made to the government of Burma on restrictions on the delivery of aid to Burma. [51551]
Mr Duncan: Department for International Development (DFID) staff and the British ambassador in Rangoon are in frequent contact with the Burmese authorities regarding UK aid for Burma. All our aid is channelled through UN agencies, international non-governmental organisations and Burmese community-based organisations. With strict monitoring, we are confident that it reaches its intended recipients effectively. DFID also provides aid cross-border from neighbouring countries to people in conflict-affected areas of Burma who cannot be reached from within the country.
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received of the policy of the Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on funding projects in Karen state, Burma; and if he will make a statement. [51552]
Mr Duncan: We expect the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to fund projects across Burma where its staff and agents are able to monitor its activities, including in parts of Karen state. It will not however fund projects in areas where access is restricted as a result of conflict.
A number of alternative means are available for delivering aid to conflict-affected areas of Burma cross-border from neighbouring countries. In 2010 the Department for International Development (DFID) provided £825,000 in cross-border health sector aid to ethnic minority groups inside Burma.
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what reports he has received on changes made to aid delivery by the government of Burma in order to enable the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to operate in that country. [51554]
Mr Duncan:
The decision by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GFATM) in November 2010 to resume its work in Burma was informed by the success of the multi-donor Three Diseases Fund which was established following GFATM's withdrawal from the country in 2005. The Three Diseases Fund has demonstrated that it is possible to deliver aid effectively in Burma through United Nations agencies, international
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non-governmental organisations and local community-based organisations. GFATM's operations in Burma will be modelled on those of the Three Diseases Fund.
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 30 March 2011, Official Report, column 374W, on development aid, how much aid his Department provided to Burundi in the last year for which figures are available; and how much aid he plans to provide in each year of the comprehensive spending review period. [51510]
Mr O'Brien: In the financial year 2009-10, the Department for International Development (DFID) provided £13 million for Burundi. The latest forecast for 2010-11 is £10.9 million. DFID plans to provide £10 million in bilateral support to Burundi in 2011-12.
From 2012-13, DFID will cease direct bilateral aid and will concentrate exclusively on furthering Burundi’s integration into the East African Community (EAC) through regional funding. DFID has initially contributed £6 million to a multi donor trust fund that will support the organisation TradeMark East Africa (TMEA) in all five EAC countries, including Burundi. This funding, among other things, will cover the remaining £5.4 million required by TMEA Burundi. We consider this to be the single most important contributing factor to Burundi’s economic growth in the medium term.
Burundi will continue to benefit from UK funding provided through the multilateral development organisations. This amounted to £12.7 million in 2008-09.
Mr Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's aid budget was spent assisting Commonwealth countries in each of the last 10 years; and what proportion he expects to be spent assisting Commonwealth countries in the next three years. [51141]
Mr Duncan: Details of the Department of International Development (DFID) aid expenditure in developing countries, including Commonwealth countries, are published in Statistics on International Development (SID) which is available in the House Library or online at
www.dfid.gov.uk.
Indicative plans for future DFID bilateral spending were published in the “Bilateral Aid Review: Technical Report” also available on DFID’s website. The proportion of DFID’s country specific bilateral aid programme spent assisting Commonwealth countries in each of the last 10 years and plans for the next three years are laid out in the following table.
| Proportion of DFID aid to Commonwealth countries 2001 | |
|
|
Percentage of country specific bilateral aid programme |
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Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51521]
Mr Duncan: We are working through the exact implications of the full spending review 2010 settlement. It is therefore not possible to estimate all of the workforce implications over the next 24 months.
We have forecast a reduction in the Department for International Development's (DFID's) corporate services of between 25% and 30%. Reductions in other areas have not yet been forecast.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51424]
Mr Duncan: The Department for International Development (DFID) provides 728 officials with mobile phone and communication devices in the UK. DFID’s overseas offices have devolved responsibility for purchasing mobile phones and communication devices. Collating the information on the number of mobile phones in use by DFID staff overseas would incur disproportionate cost.
The total spend on UK and overseas mobile communication devices was £222,789 in the 2010-11 financial year.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many (a) women and (b) men no longer serve on public bodies sponsored by his Department because of decisions to merge, reorganise or abolish such bodies since May 2010. [51440]
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Mr Duncan: There are no women or men who no longer serve on public bodies sponsored by the Department for International Development (DFID) because of decisions to merge, reorganise or abolish such bodies since May 2010.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the staff vacancy rate in his Department was in 2010-11; and what vacancy rate has been assumed in his Department's budget for 2011-12. [51384]
Mr Duncan: The vacancy rate in the Department for International Development (DFID) for 2010-11 was 2.8%.
DFID is currently refining operational plans for 2011-12 and the precise impact of this exercise in respect of staffing and vacancy rates is not yet known.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department’s budget is spent on projects to protect biodiversity; and what plans he has for future expenditure on projects of this type. [50960]
Mr O'Brien: In 2009, the Department for International Development (DFID) disbursements on programmes with biodiversity related benefits were £41.3 million. This included our contribution to the Global Environment Facility.
Going forward, the Government have pledged a contribution of £210 million for the fifth replenishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) from 2010 to 2014, which will be managed by DFID. The GEF is the financial mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with 28.6% of the GEF budget now being allocated to support biodiversity programmes in GEF eligible countries. The UK’s contribution to the GEF should be seen in the wider context of DFID’s programmes which will have significant benefits for biodiversity. For example; DFID’s support of £500,000 to The Economics of Ecosystem Services study; £24 million for the Forest Governance and Trade bilateral programme (FGT), which will continue to tackle illegal logging and related trade through governance and market reforms which will have dramatic impacts on the biodiversity of forests; ongoing support to the UN Poverty and Environment Initiative; and support to the Darwin Initiative.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the £735 million contributed by the Government to the multilateral banks’ climate investment fund has been spent on projects under the fund to date. [52393]
Mr O'Brien: The UK’s contribution to the climate investment funds (CIFs) is combined with other donors’ funds and it is not possible to track the UK’s contribution separately. As of 31 December 2010 the CIFs had endorsed a total of $4.6 billion for investment plans. Of this, the Trust Fund Committee has approved projects totalling $984 million and has disbursed $116 million to recipient countries.
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Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking (a) unilaterally and (b) in partnership with other governments and international institutions (i) to avoid food price volatility and (ii) to reduce food prices in least-developed countries. [52237]
Mr O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) is closely monitoring food prices in developing countries. Together with other members of the G20, the UK is developing measures to manage international food price volatility and mitigate the impact on the poorest. Measures being explored include better market information on grain stocks and strengthening international disciplines on export restrictions on food.
Though high prices harm consumers, higher prices can sometimes benefit producers by increasing their income. However, DFID’s bilateral programme is ensuring that the poor are better able to cope with higher food prices. For example, DFID support the Productive Safety Net Programme in Ethiopia which ensures that 8 million previously dependent on emergency aid maintain a basic standard of living. Improving agricultural production in developing countries will help to ensure food is affordable in the long term. For example DFID support in Malawi has helped over 2 million people access high yielding maize and legume seeds.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proposals he plans to make at the next G20 summit to (a) stabilise and reduce food prices and (b) promote long-term investment in agriculture in developing countries. [52238]
Mr O'Brien: Together with other members of the G20, the UK is supporting measures to manage food price volatility and mitigate its impact on the poorest. Measures to reduce volatility under discussion include: provision of better market information on grain stocks; strengthening international disciplines on export restrictions on food; and measures to minimise impact of high prices on the poorest, including potential mechanisms to assist developing countries to meet higher food import bills in times of crisis and to draw up plans for implementation.
The UK is also supporting G20 proposals aimed at strengthening international agricultural research and innovation as well as measures to ensure better governance, property rights regimes and a secure regulatory environment for investors.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what policies his Department is pursuing with the World Bank, regional development banks and the International Monetary Fund to encourage investment in agriculture to reduce food insecurity in least-developed countries. [52239]
Mr O'Brien:
The Department for International Development (DFID) has been working with the World Bank and other members of the G20 Food Security Experts Working Group to develop proposals for managing
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food price volatility and mitigating its impact on the poorest and most vulnerable people in developing countries.
DFID does not provide direct support to the African Development Bank (AfDB) or the Asian Development Bank (AsDB) on agriculture and food security policies. DFID does however work with AfDB to support Africa's own initiative, the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development programme (CAADP), which aims to raise agricultural growth to at least 6% and increase public investment in agriculture to 10% of the national budget. So far 18 African countries have drafted National Investment Plans which aim to provide an enabling framework for public and private investment in agriculture. In South Asia, DFID works with the World Bank on the South Asia Food and Nutrition Security Initiative (SAFNSI) which aims to tackle food security and nutrition by addressing issues of availability access and utilization of food.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department is providing funding to the Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries programme. [51984]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: Yes. Around 17% of global greenhouse gas emissions result from deforestation, more than global emissions from all means of transport, so it is important that we work quickly to stem the loss of forests around the world.
The UK is playing a leading role in these efforts, providing £300 million over the period 2010-12 for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This money is helping to reduce poverty in communities which depend on forests for a living and protect the rich biodiversity found in tropical forests, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The UK has also committed £2.9 billion for climate finance from 2011-15, and we will be reviewing how best to use part of this additional funding to complement our existing efforts to reduce global rates of deforestation. Long-standing UK support to combat illegal logging and curb the related trade in illegally harvested timber also makes an important contribution to global efforts to stem the loss of forests.
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent to promote awareness in the UK of global poverty in 2010-11; which organisations his Department has consulted in its review of using aid funds for this purpose; when he expects to publish the report of this review; what assessment he has made of the work of the review team to date; and if he will make a statement. [51461]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: In 2010-11 the Department for International Development spent approximately £17.2 million on projects designed to promote awareness in the UK of global poverty.
A review was launched in January 2011 to assess the impact and effectiveness of existing development awareness work and to provide evidence based advice on whether,
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and if so how, DFID should continue to use aid funds in the UK to promote awareness of global poverty and ways for the public to be involved in efforts to address it. The review is expected to report in late spring. The list of stakeholders interviewed in the course of the review will be included in the report when published.
I will make an assessment of the review once it has been completed.
Jeremy Lefroy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action his Department is taking to reduce the (a) effects of and (b) number of deaths from congenital syphilis in developing countries around the world. [51297]
Mr O'Brien: The Department for International Development (DFID) new Framework for Results for improving reproductive, maternal and newborn health recognises the importance of strengthening integrated service delivery in developing countries. This means ensuring that evidence-based, cost-effective interventions—including syphilis screening and treatment—are a part of routine antenatal care and that there is improved access to this care by all pregnant women.
DFID’s action in support of developing country governments’ plans to strengthen health services and, in particular, to improve access for poor people is helping make these interventions more widely available.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what his Department’s most recent estimate is of the number of people worldwide who do not have access to safe water. [52056]
Mr O'Brien: According to the latest figures published in the World Health Organisation and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Report 2010, in 2008 884 million people worldwide did not have access to improved sources of drinking water. Figures for 2010 will be published in March 2012.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate his Department has made of the number of people worldwide who do not have access to adequate sanitation. [52060]
Mr O'Brien: According to the latest figures published in the World Health Organisation and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Joint Monitoring Report 2010, in 2008 2.6 billion people worldwide did not have access to improved sanitation. Figures for 2010 will be published in March 2012.
Mr Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the richest country is to which the UK provides development aid; and what form such aid takes. [51511]
Mr Duncan:
Provisional figures for 2010 show that Trinidad and Tobago was the richest country in receipt of UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) in terms of gross national income per capita (GNI per capita).
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According to World Bank figures, in 2009 GNI per capita in Trinidad and Tobago was US$16,700. Provisional figures show that £30,000 of UK ODA was provided to Trinidad and Tobago in 2010. This relates to a legacy commitment made by the British Government in 1970, that it would assume responsibility from overseas governments for the payment of pensions due to expatriate colonial civil servants who had been appointed by or on behalf of the Secretary of State of the Colonies. A proportion of these pension payments are classified as ODA in line with the internationally agreed definition of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Final 2010 ODA figures will be published in the Department for International Development (DFID) publication Statistics on International Development (SID) later this year. Previous copies of this publication are available in the House Library or online at
www.dfid.gov.uk
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether his Department is providing funding to the Royal Botanic Gardens' Millennium Seed Bank. [52164]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not provide funding for the Kew Millennium Seed Bank, which collects and preserves wild plant species.
DFID does support the two crop seed banks of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) through our contribution to the Global Diversity Crop Trust and our core funding to CGIAR research centres. CGIAR seed banks currently store over 600,000 crop varieties.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid his Department is providing to countries in sub-Saharan Africa to invest in (a) safe water and (b) sanitation. [52059]
Mr O'Brien: Providing clean water and sanitation was identified as a priority in the recent Bilateral Aid Review. The UK will support programmes in nine sub-Saharan African countries that are not on track to achieve the millennium development goal target on water and sanitation. DFID have allocated an indicative budget of £396 million bilaterally through our country programmes for the next four financial years to increase access to water and sanitation in sub-Saharan Africa.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many officials from his Department are based in the Turks and Caicos Islands. [51243]
Mr Duncan: There are no Department for International Development (DFID) staff members currently based in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI). UK-based staff make occasional visits to TCI to provide advice and assistance when necessary.
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DFID is funding a total of seven public finance and governance experts to assist the TCI Government, including the position of Chief Financial Officer.
Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will take steps to require Housing Options to give a copy of its advice to applicants in writing. [51255]
Grant Shapps: Housing options advice is a key part of local authorities' work to prevent homelessness. Housing options services are now standard practice among the great majority of local authorities. Local authorities recorded 165,000 cases in 2009-10 where homelessness was prevented or relieved.
It is accepted good practice that a person seeking assistance should receive a written summary of housing options discussed. However we know housing options advice works best when schemes are developed locally that take account of local needs and local markets, and focus on giving the individual appropriate housing advice. Requiring local authorities to provide advice in writing through legislation would be overly bureaucratic and risk creating a "tick box" exercise that focuses on the process rather than providing a person with high quality advice.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fatalities there have been as a result of arson in each of the last five years. [52192]
Robert Neill: The latest annual statistics for fatal casualties in deliberate fires in England are shown in the table.
| Fatal casualties in deliberate fires, England | |
|
|
Number of fatalities |
| (1 )Provisional Source: Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics Databases, DCLG | |
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Audit Commission spent on headhunters and recruitment consultants in the last 36 months; and in each such case (a) for which employment positions the services were sought, (b) which firms were used and (c) how much was paid from public funds, including bonus or reward payments for recruiting an individual. [50992]
Robert Neill: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to respond to my hon. Friend direct.
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Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
The information you requested is set out below:
| Date | Employment position | Firm | Cost (£) |
|
Head of Policy and Assessment (Local Economies & Regeneration) |
|||
|
Head of Policy and Assessment (Environment and Climate Change) |
|||
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent estimate he has made of the likely sums to be returned to local authorities from deposits in Icelandic banks which have ceased trading. [52236]
Grant Shapps: The Department has not made any such estimates. The resolution committees for Landsbanki and Glitnir, and the UK administrators for Heritable and KSF, have published information on likely rates of return. Local authorities are in direct contact with these administrators.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) with reference to the Plan for Growth, March 2011, paragraph 2.17, what plans he has to table amendments to the Localism Bill to make provision to enable businesses to bring forward neighbourhood plans and neighbourhood development orders; [51138]
(2) whether businesses will be required to have a local connection to an area in which they wish to bring forward a neighbourhood plan; [51139]
(3) with reference to the Plan for Growth, March 2011, paragraph 2.17, by what mechanism businesses bringing forward neighbourhood plans will be required to gain the agreement of the local community. [51140]
Greg Clark: As we made clear at the Committee stage of the Localism Bill, we regard the participation of business in neighbourhood planning as desirable, especially in areas—for example, a town with a high street or an industrial district—where local businesses are a significant part of the local community. We are committed to allowing businesses to bring forward proposals for neighbourhood, planning. Businesses will need to work with and gain the agreement of the local community and pass independent examination before neighbourhood plans or orders are formalised.
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As undertaken to the Committee, we will bring forward amendments to the Localism Bill to reflect these commitments.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference for the Plan for Growth, March 2011, paragraph 2.15, by what mechanisms he intends to require local authorities seeking to introduce the community infrastructure levy to assess the economic viability of the rates they set; and what criteria will be used to assess economic viability. [51144]
Greg Clark:
The community infrastructure levy regulations (SI. No. 948. 2010) require a local authority that is introducing the levy to have regard to the potential effects of proposed charges (taken as a whole) on the economic viability of development across its area. In undertaking their assessment, local authorities are required to have regard to the “Community Infrastructure Levy
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Guidance: Charge setting and charging schedule procedures” (DCLG, 25 March 2010). Both the regulations and the guidance were issued by the previous Government under powers at Part 11 of the Planning Act 2008. The Government are keeping this guidance under review.
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 10 local authorities had (a) the highest and (b) the lowest council tax collection rates in England in the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available; and what the monetary value of the uncollected council taxes was in each such case. [50996]
Robert Neill: A list of the 10 local authorities in England that collected the highest and the lowest proportion of council tax due in 2009-10, the latest period for which data are available, along with details of the estimated monetary value of the uncollected tax are shown in the following table:
|
|
Estimated net collectable debit in respect of 2009-10 council tax (£000) | Total receipts of 2009-10 council tax in 2009-10 (£000) | Receipts of 2009-10 council tax by 31 March 2010 as a percentage of net collectable debit | Amount of 2009-10 council tax not collected by 31 March 2010 (£000) |
This information is available in Table 5 of the Statistical Release Collection rates for council tax and non-domestic rates in England 2009-10 that is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltax/collectionrates
The in-year collection rate is the amount received by 31 March in respect of that financial year's council tax shown as a percentage of the net collectable debit in respect of that year's council tax i.e. the income authorities would collect if everyone liable had paid. The figures exclude council tax benefit as this is paid directly to the local authority by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Collection of council taxes continues once the financial year to which they relate has ended. This means that the final collection rate achieved is somewhere between the figures shown here and 100%.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of his Department since his appointment. [52002]
Robert Neill: No ministerial directions have been issued in Communities and Local Government since the appointment of the Secretary of State.
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Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51415]
Robert Neill: The Department currently has 725 mobile devices on issue to staff and spent £113,000 on mobile telephones and related data services in the financial year 2009-10.
The number of devices has been reduced from 767 phones on issue in August 2010. No new orders for BlackBerrys are being accepted and the number of devices will continue to be managed down.
Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much his Department spent on (a) silver service and (b) other waiting services through its integrated facilities management contract with MITIE between the date of initiation of the contract and 5 May 2010. [50669]
Robert Neill: The Department's integrated facilities management contract with MITIE commenced in June 2004. Detailed analysis from 2004 to May 2010 could be provided only at disproportionate cost as it would involve manual checking of historic invoices.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on what date (a) he and (b) each other Minister in his Department last travelled by (i) London Underground and (ii) public bus services on Government business; how many times (A) he and (B) each other Minister in his Department has travelled by each such form of transport on Government business since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [50076]
Robert Neill: Ministers in the Department do make use of bus and London Underground travel but a record is not kept of the journeys made. All travel is undertaken in line with section 10 of the Ministerial Code which provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many of his ministerial team have been issued with (a) an Oyster card and (b) a (i) monthly and (ii) annual travel card valid on London Transport and paid for by his Department for use while travelling on Government business. [50165]
Robert Neill:
Three of this Department's ministerial team have been provided with Oyster cards and one has been provided with an annual travel card. All travel is undertaken in line with section 10 of the Ministerial Code which provides guidance on travel for Ministers
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and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make and cost-effective travel efficient arrangements.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what items with a value of over £100 have been taken without authorisation from his Department since his appointment; and what steps have been taken to recover such items. [48448]
Robert Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government has had ten lap top computers and one camera, each with a value of over £100, stolen from departmental premises since 6 May 2010.
Each case was investigated by the Department's Departmental Security Unit and the police were notified. Subsequent to the action taken the Department has not experienced a further theft of this nature from its premises since December 2010.
One departmental laptop was stolen from an official's home and reported to local police.
The following table provides a comparison with the two previous financial years:
| Item | Since 6 May | 2009-10 | 2008-09 |
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the staff vacancy rate in his Department was in 2010-11; and what vacancy rate has been assumed in his Department’s budget for 2011-12. [51380]
Robert Neill: The Department for Communities and Local Government does not record vacancy rates. Owing to the recruitment freeze implemented by this administration, the number of vacancies in DCLG has been very low.
The recruitment freeze is being extended into 2011-12, and DCLG is currently in a large-scale process of restructuring that will see around 700 posts go. The working assumption is that there will be no vacancies until October 2012.
There may be some very limited exceptions to this based in specialist areas of the Department. A small number of roles require particular specialist skills which must be recruited from outside the Department. Until the current restructuring process has been completed later this year, the numbers required are not known.
Andrew Bridgen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2011, Official Report, column 1122W, on departmental video recordings, how many
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people viewed the August 2008 Hazel Blears video message on YouTube; and for what reasons the expenditure incurred on its production was considered justified. [51938]
Robert Neill: The August 2008 video fronted by Hazel Blears, launching the White Paper “Communities in Control: Real People Real Power” received 3,187 viewings on YouTube. It was also shown at an event launching the White Paper, attended by 200 community organisations.
As outlined in my original answer, the new Government have put tighter controls in place on such external communications and marketing spending.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he is taking steps to ensure that local authorities' area development plans recognise the needs and interests of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [51361]
Robert Neill: The Government are committed to planning policies which take account of the needs of a diverse population, including people with profound learning disabilities and those who look after them. Planning Policy Statement 1, ‘Delivering Sustainable Development’, asks local planning authorities to take into account the needs of all the community, including particular requirements relating to disability, when writing local plans. Local plans should promote development which helps to create socially inclusive communities, including suitable mixes of housing, and ensures access to health services, housing and community facilities (both in terms of location and physical access) for all.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fatalities there have been as a result of fires in commercial premises in each of the last five years. [52184]
Robert Neill: The latest annual statistics for fatalities in fires in commercial premises in England are shown in the following table.
| Fatalities in fires in commercial (1) premises, England | |
| (1) Commercial premises are taken to include restaurants, public houses, clubs, bars, warehouses, offices and call centres and premises used for retail, sale and repair of vehicles, transportation, communications, financial and business services and short-term accommodation including hotels. (2) Provisional. Source: Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics Databases, DCLG | |
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fatalities there have been as a result of industrial fires in each of the last five years. [52186]
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Robert Neill: The latest annual statistics for fatalities in fires in industrial premises in England are shown in the table.
| Fatalities in fires in industrial (1) premises, England | |
|
|
Number |
| (1) Industrial premises are taken to include industrial processing and manufacturing, public utilities and bulk storage. (2) Provisional. Source: Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics Databases, DCLG | |
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many fatalities there have been as a result of fires in domestic properties in each of the last two years. [52500]
Robert Neill: The latest annual statistics for fatal casualties in dwelling and accidental dwelling fires in England are shown in the table.
| Fatal casualties in dwelling and accidental dwelling fires, England | ||
|
|
2008-09 (1) | 2009-10 (1) |
| (1 )Provisional Source: Fire and Rescue Incident Statistics Databases, DCLG | ||
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much funding his Department allocated to Gateshead Council in each of the last five years. [51593]
Robert Neill: The total grant funding allocated by the Department for Communities and Local Government to Gateshead council is as follows:
| Gateshead | |
|
|
£000 |
The definition of central Government grant used here is the sum of:
formula grant (revenue support grant and redistributed non-domestic rates)
specific grants inside aggregate external finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for council’s core services) (only includes grants from this Department)
specific grants outside aggregate external finance (only includes grants from this Department)
area-based grant (from 2008-09), and
‘other grants’ provided by all Government Departments.
These figures are taken from revenue out-turn forms provided by authorities after the end of a financial year.
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Figures for formula grant, area-based grant and other grants are aggregated grants for all Government Departments.
Comparison across years may not be valid owing to changing local authority responsibilities and changes to funding methodology.
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 7 March 2011, Official Report, column 736W, on the Government Procurement Card, if he will place in the Library a copy of the Audit Commission Government Procurement Card transaction data supplied to the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood; and if he will publish with the transaction data a description of each item purchased under (a) level 3 and (b) enhanced transactions. [50876]
Robert Neill: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to respond to my hon. Friend direct.
Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
The Audit Commission does not receive (a) level 3 or (b) enhanced transaction information from our card provider.
The information showing the GPC spend for 2008/09 and 2009/10 as supplied to the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood will be placed in the House of Commons Library.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) what his estimate is of the number and proportion of (a) men and (b) women of Irish (i) birth and (ii) descent in (A) London and (B) England who were homeless and rough sleepers in (1) 2010, (2) 2000 and (3) 1990; [52517]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of homeless people from each ethnic background in (a) London and (b) England in (i) 2010, (ii) 2000 and (iii) 1990. [52518]
Grant Shapps: Information about local authorities' discharge of their duties under homelessness legislation is collected on quarterly PIE returns. Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as being statutory homeless, that is, eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to ensure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available and this information is also collected.
The following table gives the total number of households accepted as owed a main homelessness duty in 2000 and 2010 by ethnicity. The data were not collected in 1990. We cannot distinguish between households that are of Irish birth and those that are of Irish descent. Only data on the major ethnic groups were collected in 2000.
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| Number of households accepted as being homeless by ethnicity, 2000 and 2010, England and London | ||||
| England | London | |||
|
|
2000 | 2010 | 2000 | 2010 |
| (1) In 2000, data collected under ‘Other ethnic origin’ include both ‘Mixed and Chinese’ or ‘other ethnic group’. England and London figures were 6,870 and 4,970 respectively. (2) Data not collected. Source: Quarterly P1E returns | ||||
Data on households in temporary accommodation are not collected for detailed ethnic groups. The only information available is whether the applicant is from a Black or minority ethnic group. At the end of December 2010, the total number of households in temporary accommodation in England and London were 48,010 and 36,020, of which Black or minority ethnic applicants made up 26,530 and 24, 660 respectively. The figures were not collected in 2000 and 1990.
Data on English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996), including breakdowns by ethnicity, are published in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available in the House of Commons Library or via the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
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Rough sleeping figures are not available broken down by ethnicity. Rough sleeping figures are published by the Department on the DCLG website and are given by local authority in the table at the following link.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1845849.xls
The Government have introduced a new and more accurate way of evaluating rough sleeping levels. All areas across England now provide counts or robust estimates giving a clear national picture. Latest statistics show 1,768 rough sleepers in England on any one night. These figures are not directly comparable to previously published statistics on rough sleeping.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homeless people were recorded as (a) residing in bed and breakfast accommodation, (b) residing in hostels and (c) sleeping rough in each of the (i) last three years and (ii) last three quarters; and if he will estimate the (A) number of and (B) cost of accommodation of such people in each type of accommodation in each local authority in each year to 2014. [50999]
Grant Shapps: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (Part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected quarterly at local authority level. Data collected includes the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to ensure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available and this information is also collected. Data is published in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available in the House of Commons Library or via the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
Figures showing the number of households in temporary accommodation at the end of each quarter in bed and breakfast style accommodation and hostels are provided in Table 6 of the accompanying tables:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1861737.xls
These figures include households placed in temporary accommodation by their local authority, usually whilst the authority is discharging a main homelessness duty to secure suitable accommodation until a settled home becomes available for the applicant household. They do not include households who are not in priority need.
The department also holds information on Supporting People Client Records. These show the number of clients whose predominant needs relate to homelessness who enter direct access hostels funded by Supporting People. These statistics measure the flow of clients into hostels over the year rather than the total number of people residing in hostels. The data are available from the University of St Andrews:
https://www.spclientrecord.org.uk
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The Government have introduced a new more accurate way of evaluating rough sleeping levels. Previously only local authorities where there was a known, or suspected, rough sleeping problem were required to provide a count. All areas across England now provide counts or robust estimates giving a clear national picture. Latest statistics show 1,768 rough sleepers in England on any one night. The Government have also set up a cross-departmental ministerial working group on homelessness to address the complex causes and improve support for homeless people.
Rough sleeping figures are published by the Department on the DCLG website and are given by local authority in the table at the following link. These figures are not directly comparable to previously published statistics on rough sleeping.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/statistics/xls/1845849.xls
The Department has not made any estimates of the future numbers of households in each type of accommodation and the associated costs.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference for the Plan for Growth, March 2011, paragraph 2.22, when he expects to publish the consultation on proposals to make it easier to convert commercial properties to residential use; and when he expects the consultation to close. [51143]
Greg Clark: The consultation paper, ‘Relaxation of planning rules for change of use from commercial to residential’, was published on 8 April 2011 and can be found on the Department's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/planningandbuilding/relaxationchangeconsultation
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration he has given to the merits of including housing associations within the categories of body subject to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. [52291]
Grant Shapps: The Government are actively considering all options for increasing openness, transparency and accountability in the housing association sector. We have already taken steps to ensure that private bodies (including housing associations) that sign a contract for allocations of more than £3 million from the Affordable Homes programme must publish quarterly all expenditure in excess of £500 relating to delivery of schemes which form part of the contract.
Mr Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will bring forward amendments to the Localism Bill to provide that local authority housing revenue accounts are ring-fenced following the introduction of self-financing arrangements. [50817]
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Andrew Stunell: There is no need for such an amendment as the existing Housing Revenue Account ring-fence will continue after the introduction of self-financing. Abolition of the subsidy system does not end the requirement for local authorities to maintain a statutory, ring-fenced Housing Revenue Account. They will still be required to account to their tenants for income and expenditure on council housing separately from other functions and services. This ensures that council taxpayers do not subsidise services specifically for the benefit of tenants and that rent is not used to subsidise functions which are for the benefit of the wider local community.
‘Implementing self-financing for council housing’, which we published on 1 February, advised that we do not. intend to issue new guidance on its operation.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) if he will take steps to encourage those on council housing waiting lists to participate in the Community Right to Build programme; [52304]
(2) if he will bring forward proposals to link apprenticeship schemes to the Community Right to Build programme. [52305]
Grant Shapps: The Community Right to Build proposals contained in the Localism Bill, currently before Parliament, would provide an opportunity for communities to shape the area where they live by bringing forward community-led development proposals without the need for a separate planning application. Subject to parliamentary approval of the proposals, we will promote the benefits of the Community Right to Build to all who may wish to take advantage of them,
Community Right to Build proposals will be developed by communities themselves. Communities may wish to bring forward development proposals in partnership with housing associations or developers or as self-build or co-housing schemes. It will be for communities themselves, in agreement with any development partners, to decide if they wish to incorporate any apprenticeship schemes within their proposals.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with banks on the level of loan applications approved for self-build homes. [52365]
Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to increasing housing supply and supporting homeownership. Self-builders make an important contribution to housing supply and the Government are already reforming and simplifying the planning system and reducing the burden of regulation to support all house builders.
I have also set up a Government-Industry Working Group to examine the specific barriers that self-builders face. One of these groups, led by finance industry experts, is having continued detailed discussions with the lending community. They will report their recommendations back to me this summer.
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Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the potential benefits to the Crawley borough council area of the New Homes Bonus. [51617]
Grant Shapps: Commencing in April 2011, the New Homes Bonus will match fund the additional council tax raised on the net increase in effective housing stock for six years.
Final allocations for 2011-12 were announced on 4 April and rewards housing delivered between October 2009 and October 2010. Crawley borough council has received £477,309 for 2011-12. Over the six years this amounts to £2,863,856 based on year one delivery. The future rewards for Crawley will depend on the amount of net additional housing delivered in the coming years.
Full details of the calculation for the bonus can be found in the final scheme design document, available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/finalschemedesign
Amber Rudd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will assess the potential benefits to Hastings of the New Homes Bonus. [51943]
Grant Shapps: Commencing in April 2011, the New Homes Bonus will match fund the additional council tax raised on the net increase in effective housing stock for six years.
Final allocations for 2011-12 were announced on 4 April and rewards housing delivered between October 2009 and October 2010. Hastings borough council has received £194,710 for 2011-12. Over the six years this amounts to £1,168,263 based on year one delivery. The future rewards for Hastings will depend on the amount of net additional housing delivered in the coming years.
Full details of the calculation for the bonus can be found in the final scheme design document, available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/finalschemedesign
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Local Government Association and (b) other organisations on the dissemination of good practice in the provision of access to public swimming pools for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [51273]
Hugh Robertson: I have been asked to reply.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has not discussed this with the Local Government Association. Sport England, however, has developed Design Guidance Notes which aim to promote a greater general understanding of overall design concepts, an appreciation of technical issues and the critical factors that need to be considered in developing a sports facility.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 201W
The ‘Accessible Sports Facilities’ guidance note provides local authorities and other facility providers with advice about considering the needs of people with sensory, cognitive and mobility impairments, including wheelchair users.
Sport England has also developed guidance on swimming pools, which outlines the basic principles and concepts of good swimming pool design.
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to the public purse has been of expenditure by his Department on external legal costs in relation to judicial reviews and associated appeals against his Department in relation to unitary legal restructuring since 2008-09; and if he will list each of the legal titles in each such case. [50994]
Robert Neill: One legal challenge has been brought since 2008-09 against the Secretary of State in relation to unitary local government restructuring—“The Queen on the application of Norfolk County Council and Devon County Council versus Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and (1) Exeter City Council (2) Norwich City Council (Interested Parties)”. The costs incurred by the Department for this case are £205,500 (this includes £121,000 that the Department had to pay for the claimants’ costs).
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for West Bromwich East (Mr Watson) of 4 March 2011, Official Report, column 638W, on legal opinion, if he will place in the Library a copy of the data for expenditure on legal fees in 2008-09, based on the purchasing records and purchasing ledger data held by his Department for each supplier. [50805]
Robert Neill: The data for expenditure on legal fees in 2008-09, based on the purchasing records, has been placed in the Library of the House.
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the (a) level and (b) type of financial support which will be offered to the second tranche of local enterprise zones will be the same as that offered to those in the first round of bids. [51146]
Robert Neill: Government have put forward a range of measures to develop Enterprise Zones and make them attractive places to do business. These include;
A business rate discount of 100%, or up to £275,000 over a five year period;
All business rate growth generated by the zone for a period of at least 25 years will be keep by that area.
In addition, Government will enable the use of Tax Increment Finance, borrowing against future business rates, to support the long-term viability of the area.
All of these measures will be available to both the first and second tranche of Enterprise Zones.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 202W
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which tax increment financing projects are being monitored by his Department. [51502]
Robert Neill: There are currently no tax increment financing projects in England. As part of the Local Government Resource Review we are considering how to deliver tax increment financing proposals against a context of greater retention of business rate revenues.
Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether he plans to (a) issue guidance and (b) collect examples of best practice to assist community groups in the management of previously council-run facilities; [51752]
(2) what steps his Department is taking to facilitate the takeover of halls which were previously administered by local councils by local community groups. [51803]
Greg Clark: The Government are funding the Asset Transfer Unit to promote best practice across England and provide advice and expertise on matters relating to asset transfer to community ownership and management.
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the letter from the Minister of State for Housing and Local Government of 16 December 2010 to the Local Government Association on senior pay, what guidance his Department has given to local authorities on the employment of senior staff who are receiving a pension from the Local Government Pension scheme. [50804]
Robert Neill: The Government's role in specific local government pay and workforce issues is extremely limited as they are, rightly, a matter for the individual councils as the employer. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has, however, called on councils to show leadership in pay restraint and for chief executives earning the most senior salaries to take a voluntary pay cut. In addition, he has set out his intention to use guidance under provisions in the Localism Bill to set out the Government's view that decisions about salaries over £100,000 should always be subject to a vote of Full Council.
A member entitled to a pension under the Local Government Pension scheme (LGPS) must inform a new scheme employer and their LGPS administering authority about that new employment, as the LGPS provides administering authorities with discretionary powers to reduce or extinguish the amount of pension payable to a scheme member who has entered new employment with a scheme employer. No specific guidance is issued on abatement as each LGPS administering authority is required to formulate and keep under review its policy concerning abatement. In doing so, an administering authority must be aware of the extent to which any policy not to apply to abatement could lead to a serious loss of confidence in the public service.
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Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what arrangements his Department has put in place with local authorities for the payment of £250 salary increases to lower-paid workers. [52163]
Robert Neill: Pay and conditions for local government employees are matters for negotiation between trades unions and local government employers. Central Government has no role in those negotiations.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on amending the provisions of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to allow local authorities to determine whether to host motor sports events on public roads in a local authority area. [50061]
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Robert Neill [holding answer 31 March 2011]: Ministers within the Department for Communities and Local Government regularly meet colleagues from the Department for Transport to discuss a range of matters.
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which 10 local authorities had (a) the highest and (b) the lowest business rate collection rates in England in the most recent 12-month period for which figures are available; and what the monetary value of the uncollected business rates was in each such case. [50997]
Robert Neill: A list of the 10 local authorities in England that collected the highest and the lowest proportion of non-domestic rates due in 2009-10, the latest period for which data are available, along with details of the estimated monetary value of the uncollected tax are shown in the following table:
|
|
Estimated net collectable debit in respect of 2009-10 non-domestic rates (£000) | Total receipts of 2009-10 non-domestic rates in 2009-10 (£000) | Receipts of 2009-10 non-domestic rates by 31 March 2010 as a percentage of net collectable debit (percentage) | Account of 2009-10 non-domestic rates not collected by 31 March 2010 (£000) |
This information is available in Table 5 of the Statistical Release Collection rates for council tax and non-domestic rates in England 2009-10 that is available on the Department for Communities and Local Government's website at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltax/collectionrates/
The in-year collection rate is the amount received by 31 March in respect of that financial year's non-domestic rates shown as a percentage of the net collectable debit in respect of that year's non-domestic rates i.e. the income authorities would collect if everyone liable had paid.
Collection of non-domestic rates continues once the financial year to which they relate has ended. This means that the final collection rate achieved is somewhere between the figures shown here and 100%.
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on publicans of the charging of business rates on empty properties. [50972]
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Robert Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East (Gregg McClymont) on 14 February 2011, Official Report, column 543W, on public houses, and my answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Patrick Mercer) of 8 February 2011, Official Report, column 178W, on non-domestic rates.
Since the answer, the Government have extended the doubling of small business rate relief from one year to two years, until September 2012, which will benefit many pubs.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 24 March 2011, Official Report, column 68WS, on planning for growth, what guidance his Department has issued to local planning authorities on the review of section 106 agreements. [52103]
Greg Clark: The Government issued a chief planning officers’ letter on 31 March 2011 to all English local planning authorities on the steps they should take to ensure that planning supports sustainable economic growth. Annex B of the letter includes guidance on reviewing existing section 106 agreements.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to paragraph 2.27 of The Plan for Growth, March 2011, what measures he plans to introduce to make the planning system simpler and more efficient. [52121]
Robert Neill: The Government will consult in the autumn on measures to simplify and speed-up planning procedures, which will include steps to streamline the information required to support planning applications.
Heidi Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households (a) in each local housing authority area and (b) nationally (i) were offered a qualifying offer of suitable private rented housing as a discharge of homeless duty and (ii) refused such an offer in 2010. [51661]
Grant Shapps: Information is not collected by Government on the number of households that were offered a qualifying offer of suitable private rented housing as a discharge of a main homelessness duty or who refused such an offer.
Information about local authorities' discharge of their duties under homelessness legislation is collected on quarterly PIE returns. Summary information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library of the House and via the DCLG website:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
26 Apr 2011 : Column 206W
Data collected include the number of households that accepted a qualifying offer of an assured shorthold tenancy to discharge a main homelessness duty. In 2010 the duty was ended in this way for 3,330 households.
Data are also collected on local authorities' actions to prevent or relieve homelessness outside of the statutory framework and is published by the Department at the following link:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/homelessnessprevention200910
In 2009-10, 50,720 households in England were assisted into private rented accommodation by local authorities and partner organisations outside of the statutory framework.
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) the non-departmental public bodies for which he is responsible spent on opinion research and opinion polling companies in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10; and how much and for what purpose in each such case. [50995]
Robert Neill: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart) on 9 September 2010, Official Report, column 603W.
Information on the Department's associated public bodies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (1) whether he is taking steps to ensure the production of research and data collection on housing and energy matters for local authorities following the abolition of regional spatial strategies; [50366]
(2) whether he plans to take steps to ensure that data collection undertaken for the preparation of regional spatial strategies is retained in the new planning framework. [50374]
Greg Clark: The data held by the former local authority leaders' boards have been archived on websites operated jointly by the local authorities in each region and therefore remain readily accessible by those local authorities. We have also ensured that the data remain accessible to the public. For some regions, the data are also being held by the British Library's web archive.
Local plans and joint plans should continue to be based on sound evidence. Local authorities should continue to collect and use reliable information to justify their policies for development and growth, including housing and energy, as they always have done. Planning Policy Statements remain in place, for example PPS 3 provides guidance on how to assess housing need.
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of any effects on the production of local development frameworks of the abolition of regional spatial strategies. [50394]
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Greg Clark: The number of local plans coming forward has increased since we announced that we will abolish regional strategies.
31 core strategies were submitted for approval between May and December 2010, compared to 14 submitted in the same period the previous year.
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/localismregionalplanning
Jack Dromey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what mechanisms are in place to aid local authorities in deciding the location of sites suitable for sub-regionally significant hazardous waste facilities and other waste management infrastructure which was formerly provided by regional spatial strategies. [50573]
Robert Neill: Regional strategies are part of the statutory ‘development plan’. When preparing waste plans, local planning authorities should have regard to national policy, including Planning Policy Statement 10: ‘Sustainable Waste Management’. Notwithstanding, the Government's abolition of regional strategies via the Localism Bill is a material consideration in planning decisions.
Hazel Blears: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of the operating costs of the Research, Information and Communications Unit in the Home Office (a) was met by his Department in (i) 2008-09 and (ii) 2009-10 and (b) will he so meet in 2010-11. [47324]
Robert Neill: I refer the right hon. Lady to the answer given by the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Arundel and South Downs (Nick Herbert) on 31 March 2011, Official Report, column 458W.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps his Department (a) is taking and (b) plans to take in the next two years to increase the flexibility of access to shared ownership schemes for first-time buyers; what recent representations he has received on this issue; and if he will make a statement. [51955]
Grant Shapps: The Government are committed to supporting those who aspire to own their own home. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Battersea (Jane Ellison) on 4 April 2011, Official Report, column 738. I have received three representations on this issue recently.
All households with an income of less than £60,000 who cannot afford to buy without assistance are eligible to apply for Government-funded affordable home ownership schemes. The only nationally set priorities are social tenants and serving armed forces personnel. Local authorities, in conjunction with their partners, have the flexibility to set any other priorities within their areas in line with local requirements.
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Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many one bedroom properties were let to existing social tenants (a) nationally and (b) in each region in 2009-10. [52461]
Grant Shapps: Information on the number of households receiving social housing is collected through the Continuous Recording of Letting form (CORE). Information on number of bedrooms is only collected for general needs lettings.
The following table gives the number of one-bedroom general needs lettings made to existing social tenants nationally and in each statistical region in 2009-10:
|
|
Number |
| Source: CORE lettings returns, 2009-10 | |
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes were available for (a) rent and (b) shared ownership sale by housing associations and housing trusts in (i) City of Chester constituency and (ii) Cheshire West and Chester at the most recent date for which figures are available. [50917]
Andrew Stunell: Figures are not available at constituency level. They are collected at local authority district level for housing associations and housing trusts who are Registered Providers. The Regulatory and Statistical Return managed by the Tenant Services Authority asks Registered Providers to report data on their stock.
The Regulatory and Statistical Return showed that as at 31 March 2010 registered housing associations and housing trusts owned approximately 16,006 homes in Cheshire West and Chester for social rent. Of these, 4,410 units comprised housing specifically intended for older people, 424 comprised other supported housing and the remaining 11,172 were intended for households with general needs. Of these 'general needs' homes, 114 were vacant, of which 64 were available for letting. Information on vacancy in the stock of supported housing and housing for older people is not collected by local authority or constituency area. During the year to 31 March 2010 there were 52 low cost home ownership sales made by Registered Providers of their stock in Cheshire West and Chester.
Additionally, properties are made available for shared ownership by other providers, including through Section 106 agreements.
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Additional affordable homes since April 2010 will count towards the Affordable Homes element of the New Homes Bonus, which provides a powerful incentive for local authorities to increase housing supply. Cheshire West and Chester will receive a £350 premium per affordable home for the six years on top of the main part of the Bonus, which, in total, is £326,383 for year one
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that funding it has provided to local authorities for adult social care is used for that purpose. [51148]
Robert Neill: The Department provides unhypothecated formula grant to local authorities, which they use to meet locally identified priorities including adult social care.
In addition, funding, totalling £800 million in 2011-12 and rising to £1 billion by 2014-15, has been allocated within the NHS to be spent on measures that support social care, which also benefits health. The new NHS Operating Framework sets out specific primary care trust allocations that they will transfer to councils for spending on social care services to benefit health, and to improve overall health gain. Primary care trusts and local authorities will need to work together to agree jointly appropriate areas for social care investment, with a shared analysis of need and a common agreement on the outcomes to be met.
We have no plans to nationally monitor local authorities on how they spend their allocations. Councils are most effective when they have freedom to innovate and respond to what local people want, and this Government are committed to reducing the burdens on local authorities.
The Department does collect revenue expenditure data from all local authorities in England, including information on social care services—available at
www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/revenueexpenditure/
Transparency should underpin everything that councils do. All council business should be open to public scrutiny—whether it is expenditure, senior pay, council expenses or voluntary sector funding. The Government are consulting on a code of recommended practice to enshrine the principles of data transparency and to set out the minimum data that should be published.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on encouraging greater use of school facilities by community sports clubs. [51219]
Andrew Stunell:
The Department for Communities and Local Government has had no discussions with the Department for Education on encouraging the greater use of school facilities by community sports clubs, but we agree that greater use of school facilities by community sport clubs, can promote the benefits of sports, as well as creating a legacy for the school and the community at
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large by strengthening school and local partnership. This kind of partnership will also ensure the school serves the community, with all sections of the community benefiting from increased usage.
The extra revenue for the school can be used to provide extra sports curriculum activities for pupils, as well as helping to reduce overall operating costs where clubs take on the facility management role out of school hours.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the introduction of a presumption of sustainable development in the local planning system with his Department's policies on localism. [50320]
Robert Neill: The presumption in favour of sustainable development will be a central feature of the National Planning Policy Framework, which will allow it to be integrated fully with the Government's wider priorities for the planning system. We will consult on a draft of the National Planning Policy Framework in the summer. Our aim will be to ensure that the presumption supports localism, in particular by bolstering the role of up-to-date plans in planning decisions.
The presumption is part of a wider package of reforms to localise the planning system including the abolition of regional strategies, and, introducing new neighbourhood plans.
Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Plan for Growth, March 2011, paragraphs 2.11 and 2.12, what definition of sustainable developments his Department uses. [51132]
Greg Clark: Policy on the sustainable development principles that should underpin planning decisions is set out in Planning Policy Statement 1: Delivering Sustainable Development.
Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much the Tenant Services Authority has spent on office chairs since its creation; and what the (a) make and model and (b) cost was of each type of chair. [51974]
Andrew Stunell: Since its inception in 2008, the Tenant Services Authority has been using the chairs of its predecessor the Housing Corporation.
However, for those staff with an identified need following a display screen equipment assessment, the authority has spent a total of £4,652.84 on ergonomic chairs. The chairs were purchased from DS Ergonomics at an average cost of £465 per chair.
The chairs have been provided to enable the Tenant Services Authority to meet the minimum requirements set out in the schedule to the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992 and relevant standards.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 211W
Eric Ollerenshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 8 March 2011, Official Report, column 956W, on translation services, how much the Audit Commission has spent on translation and interpretation costs for (a) Lithuanian, (b) Mandarin, (c) Polish, (d) Spanish, (e) Sora, (f) Farsi and (g) Albanian in each of the last three years; and what the title is of each document translated. [50875]
Robert Neill: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to my hon. Friend direct.
Your Parliamentary Question has been passed to me to reply.
I have set out below the costs and titles of each document translated in each of the last three years, for the six languages you highlighted in your question.
(a) Lithuanian £171.56
Slides for a presentation to a conference of local government auditors in Lithuania, at which we were invited to speak. All travel expenses and accommodation were paid directly by the conference organisers.
(b) Mandarin £1276.38
Place Survey Project—the government stipulated the requirements of the survey should be available in the most frequently spoken non-English languages. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) wanted the translations to be provided centrally to avoid costs being passed on to individual councils. All costs were recovered from specific funding that DCLG gave the Commission to carry out the Place Survey on its behalf.
(c) Polish £84.00
(d) Spanish £76.60
Notting Hill Housing Trust—Letter to residents
(e) Sora £141.61
Hyde Housing Association—Letter to residents
(f) Farsi £110.46
Stadium Housing Association—Letter to residents
(g) Albanian £94.68
Stadium Housing Association—Letter to residents
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he has assessed the merits of taking steps to encourage local authorities to allow voluntary organisations to clear rights of way. [51221]
Andrew Stunell: The Department for Communities and Local Government has made no formal assessment of the merits of encouraging local authorities to allow voluntary organisations to clear rights of way, but we are supportive of the right which provides local people the opportunity to enjoy the natural environment with the associated health and community benefits that volunteering in the open air brings. Many local authorities already work with volunteers in green space activities such as clearing rights of way or maintaining local parks or green space.
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Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what timetable the Office for National Statistics has set for the (a) processing and (b) publication of information and data from the 2011 Census. [52205]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what timetable the Office for National Statistics has set for the (a) processing and (b) publication of information and data from the 2011 Census. (52205).
(a) Data from returned questionnaires will be captured and coded between March 2011 and January 2012.
Statistical results will then be produced and quality assured by July 2012.
(b) The first statistics—population counts for each local authority broken down by age and sex—will be published in July 2012. More detailed statistics about the population will then be published over the following year. A timetable for publication of these more detailed statistics will be produced in summer 2011.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) whether he has carried out an impact assessment of the proposed changes to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme; and what estimate he has made of the effect on the opt-out rate from the scheme of implementing such changes; [52246]
(2) what arrangements are in place to ensure that the changes to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme are sustainable and progressive; [52268]
(3) what assessment he has made of the effects of the proposed changes to the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme on part-time members of staff who are members of the scheme. [52269]
Mr Maude: At the Spending Review the Government announced changes to the level of employee contribution rates which would lead to total savings of £2.8 billion a year by 2014-15, to be phased in from April 2012. Discussions about how this will be implemented are ongoing with unions in the context of wider ranging pension discussions. The Government will put forward proposals in the summer, and will then begin formal consultation on the necessary changes to scheme regulations. Assessing the likely impact of the changes to part-time staff will be part of this consultation process.
The Government are committed to protecting low earners and ensuring changes are both sustainable and progressive.
The Treasury published an estimate of likely opt-out rates at the Spending Review:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_policycostings.pdf
This estimate has been scrutinised by the independent Office for Budget Responsibility, and will be reviewed when the Government puts forward final designs.
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Michael Fallon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the average pension was of civil servants in each region in the latest period for which figures are available. [51310]
Mr Hurd: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths in Milton Keynes were (a) alcohol and (b) drug-related in each of the last five years; and how many of those who died were aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years of age. [51930]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths in Milton Keynes were (a) alcohol and (b) drug-related in each of the last five years; and how many of those who died were aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years of age. (51930)
The tables attached provide the number of deaths where the underlying cause was (a) alcohol-related (Table 1) and (b) drug poisoning (Table 2), for persons aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 24, (iii) 25 to 40 and (iv) over 40 years, in Milton Keynes unitary authority, for the years 2005 to 2009 (the latest year available).
Figures for alcohol-related deaths in the UK, England and Wales, and government office regions are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=14496
Figures for deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales by sex, age, cause and substance involved are published annually on the National Statistics website at:
www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=11695
| Table 1: Number of deaths where the underlying cause of death was alcohol-related, Milton Keynes unitary authority, 2005 to 2009 (1,2,3) | |||||
| Persons | |||||
| Age group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The specific conditions which are included in the National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths, and their corresponding ICD-10 codes, are shown in Box 1 below. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |||||
| Box 1: National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths | |
| Cause of death | ICD-10 codes |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 214W
| Table 2: Number of deaths where drug poisoning was the underlying cause of death, Milton Keynes unitary authority, 2005 to 2009 (1,2,3) | |||||
| Persons | |||||
| Age group | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). The ICD-10 codes for drug poisoning are shown in Box 2 below. (2) Based on boundaries as of 2011. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. | |||||
| Box 2: ICD-10 codes for deaths related to drug poisoning | |
| Cause of death | ICD-10 codes |
|
Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco) |
|
|
Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances |
|
|
Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances |
|
|
Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent |
|
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officers of his Department since his appointment. [52003]
Mr Maude: I have not issued any ministerial directions to the accounting officer since my appointment.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will make it his policy to require all cleaning contracts held with (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) 10 Downing street to stipulate that the cleaning products used should be EU Ecolabel products accredited by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs; and if he will make a statement. [52373]
Mr Maude: The Prime Minister's Office forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office's Total Facilities Management contract for its central London estate is with EcovertFM. While the contract does not stipulate the use of EU Ecolabel products, wherever possible EcovertFM use environmentally friendly products.
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Tessa Munt: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what contracts his Department and its associated public bodies signed with Lockheed Martin in each of the last 10 years; and for what purposes each such contract was let. [50690]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office has not signed contracts with Lockheed Martin in any of the last 10 financial years for which records are available.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) contracted Lockheed Martin on the 2011 Census in England and Wales, for which ONS carried out a fully compliant procurement in accordance with the requirements of European law and the European Union Procurement Directives, which have been incorporated into English law. They were awarded the contract as it offered the best value for money. Cabinet Office ministers approved the contract on 21 August 2008 as its value was above the amount accounting officers could authorise.
The information requested for other associated public bodies is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate costs.
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether computer systems used by staff in his Department working for (a) the Prime Minister and (b) members of the Cabinet were compromised on any occasion in February 2011. [50938]
Mr Maude: No computer systems used by staff in the Cabinet Office working for (a) The Prime Minister and (b) members of the Cabinet were compromised on any occasions in February 2011.
Graeme Morrice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people working in (a) 10 Downing street and (b) his Department are not employed by the civil service. [47262]
Mr Maude: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office. As well as civil servants, the Metropolitan police, facilities management providers, and other contractors and organisations provide services on the Cabinet Office estate. The number of people working on the Cabinet Office estate who are not employed by the civil service changes on a weekly basis. Providing such information would be at disproportionate cost.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information he holds on the number of employees of each Government Department and their agencies; and if he will make it his policy to publish monthly information on the number of such employees. [50227]
Mr Maude:
Information on the number of employees in Government Departments and their agencies is published quarterly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as
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part of their Quarterly Public Sector Employment Statistics (QPSES). Further information can be found on the ONS website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=13615
The ONS Annual Civil Service Employment Survey (ACSES) gives more detail on the size and composition of the civil service. Further information can be found on the ONS website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/STATBASE/Product.asp?vlnk=2899
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 16 March 2011, Official Report, columns 9-10WS, on the public bodies reform programme, what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department net of costs incurred in the assumption of additional departmental responsibilities to accrue from the abolition of eight public bodies within his Department's area of responsibility. [48138]
Mr Maude: On 16 March 2011 I issued a written ministerial statement updating Parliament on progress on public bodies reform. That statement also announced that Departments estimate cumulative administrative savings of at least £2.6 billion will flow from public bodies over the spending review period.
I anticipate net overall administrative savings from reform of Cabinet Office departmental public bodies to be £9.71 million over the spending review period.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) on what date (a) he and (b) each other Minister in his Department last travelled by (i) London Underground and (ii) public bus services on government business; how many times (A) he and (B) each other Minister in his Department has travelled by each such form of transport on government business since May 2010; and if he will make a statement; [50074]
(2) how many of his ministerial team have been issued with (a) an Oyster card and (b) a (i) monthly and (ii) annual travel card valid on London Transport and paid for by his Department for use while travelling on Government business. [50164]
Mr Maude: Cabinet Office Ministers regularly travel on public transport. The Cabinet Office has not issued Oyster or travel cards to its Ministers.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he has plans for the supply of energy from (a) wind, (b) solar, (c) biofuels and (d) other renewable sources to the Government offices and residential accommodation in Downing street. [51704]
Mr Maude: The Government offices and residential accommodation in Downing street are wholly supplied with electricity from renewable sources.
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Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what definition of open standards in information technology his Department uses; and if he will make a statement. [50706]
Mr Maude: Government currently define open standards, in the procurement of Government ICT systems, as standards which:
result from and are maintained through an open, independent process;
are approved by a recognised specification or standardisation organisation, for example W3C or ISO or equivalent. (NB. The specification/standardisation must be compliant with regulation 9 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006. This regulation makes it clear that technical specifications/standards cannot simply be national standards but must also include/recognise European standards);
are thoroughly documented and publicly available at zero or low cost;
have intellectual property made irrevocably available on a royalty free basis; and
as a whole can be implemented and shared under different development approaches and on a number of platforms.
This definition is included, in “Procurement Policy Note—Use of Open Standards when specifying ICT requirements”, published by Cabinet Office on 31 January 2011. The definition is currently undergoing informal consultation as part of the “UK Government Open Standards Survey” and will be reviewed when this comes to an end on 20 May.
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff are employed in his Department's Efficiency and Reform Group. [46380]
Mr Maude: 598.27 staff (full-time equivalent (FTE)) were employed in the Efficiency and Reform Group on 30 June 2010. This figure had fallen to 528.24 FTE on 28 February, the latest date for which figures are available. Following the Cabinet Office Voluntary Departure Programme, the Efficiency and Reform Group will be resourced from 2011-12 through a flexible resource pool of 400 staff. Additionally an estimated 75 staff will be employed on a short-term basis on one-off projects in 2011-12.
The Efficiency and Resource Group also has responsibility for the delivery functions of Buying Solutions, the Central Office of Information, the National School for Government, DirectGov and My Civil Service Pensions.
Ian Mearns: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many business start-ups in Gateshead constituency there (a) were in each year between June 2005 and May 2010 and (b) have been since May 2010. [51597]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
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As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many business start-ups there were in Gateshead constituency (a) in each year between June 2005 and May 2010 and (b) since May 2010. [51597]
Annual statistics on the number of enterprise births are available from 2002 onwards in the ONS release on Business Demography at www.statistics.gov.uk. The table below contains the latest statistics available, which give the number of enterprise births from 2005 to 2009 for the ward areas that cover the new constituency of Gateshead. Information relating to 2010 will be available following release of the latest Business Demography publication, currently scheduled for December 2011.
Table showing Enterprises births in ward areas that cover the new constituency of Gateshead 2005 to 2009
|
|
Births |
Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many public bodies have expressed an interest in becoming employee mutuals to date. [35466]
Mr Maude: As my hon. Friend knows, the Government are committed to providing more opportunities for the transfer of responsibility to civil society and the voluntary sector. As part of this, we are introducing new ‘Rights to Provide’ for public sector workers to form employee-led organisations and take over the services they deliver:
Local authority employees will be able to use the Right to Challenge to trigger a procurement process for services, in which they can compete alongside others.
Central Government Departments will develop bespoke Rights to Provide for their employees
Employees across the public sector will exercise Rights to Provide developed on a service-specific basis. The Department of Health has already announced a new Right to Provide in NHS and care services where clinically appropriate.
Numerous employees have already expressed an interest in creating and developing new mutuals. There are now 21 Mutual Pathfinders across a wide range of public services—all forming new mutual organisations, with the support of pro bonomentoring from experts in employee ownership and business management. This is in addition to more than £900 million of NHS spending that will go to social enterprises founded under DH's Right to Request initiative.
Co-Operatives UK, the Employee Ownership Association and Local Partnerships have collaborated to establish the Mutuals Information Service, providing telephone advice and guidance to employees considering mutualisation. The service has taken hundreds of calls since its launch in November; the Cabinet Office is working closely with Central Government groups seeking to mutualise through its recently-announced Enterprise Incubator Unit. The formation of MyCSP as a Mutual Joint Venture has already been announced, and more bodies going down this route will be announced in due course.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 219W
Pamela Nash: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what targets he has set for the reduction of rates of absence in the public sector. [50937]
Mr Maude: I have not set any targets for the reduction of rates of absence in the public sector. Cabinet Office hosts a regular forum for employers which span the civil service and the wider public, private and voluntary sectors. This forum tackles work force issues and shares best practice on effective ways to reduce sickness absence.
Within the civil service a series of actions are under way to further reduce sickness absence including guidance and support for departmental boards. The Cabinet Office is also reviewing sick pay arrangements across the civil service.
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with which Government departments staff of the Civil Contingencies Secretariat have met to discuss contingency plans to operate services in the event of industrial action by public sector workers since May 2010. [51941]
Mr Maude: The Civil Contingencies Secretariat routinely works with a wide range of departments to ensure robust arrangements are in place to respond to the full range of potentially disruptive challenges to essential services including, for example, staff shortages as a result of sickness, industrial action, or transport disruption. These arrangements equally support essential services’ continuity against the full range of risks in the National Risk Assessment.
Teresa Pearce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff in the Civil Contingencies Secretariat are working on contingency plans to operate services in the event of industrial action by public sector workers; and how many such staff receive salaries of over (a) £20,000, (b) £50,000, (c) £80,000, (d) £100,000, (e) £130,000, (f) £150,000 and (g) £200,000. [51949]
Mr Maude: A primary task for the Civil Contingencies Secretariat is to work closely with Departments to ensure that they have robust plans in place to minimise the risk of disruption to essential services, in particular through the development of generic capabilities and effective business continuity arrangements. These are designed to support essential services’ continuity against the full range of risks in the National Risk Assessment, for example, staff shortages due to illness or industrial action. No-one in the secretariat earns more than £100,000, and only one earns over £80,000.
Mr Laws: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what proportion of (a) men and (b) women in each age group were (i) unemployed and (ii) in receipt of (A) incapacity benefit and (B) employment support allowance in the latest period for which figures are available. [45403]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 220W
Chris Grayling: I have been asked to reply.
The information requested is set out in the following tables:
| (i) Unemployment levels shown as a proportion of the population, for the three months ending December 2010, United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted. | ||||||||
| Aged | ||||||||
|
|
16+ | 16-64 | 16-17 | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64 | 65 and over |
| Notes: 1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place. 2. Unemployment proportions are based on the number of people unemployed in the age group divided by the population of the relevant age group. 3. The estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc) Source: Labour Force Survey | ||||||||
| (ii) Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance (IB/SDA) and employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants shown as a proportion of the population, August 2010, Great Britain | ||||||
| Aged | ||||||
|
|
16-17 | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-49 | 50-64 | 65 and over |
| (1 )Nil or negligible. Notes: 1. Percentages are shown to one decimal place. 2. Proportions are calculated using Mid 2009 Population, estimates. 3. Employment and support allowance replaced incapacity benefit and income support paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. Source: DWP Information Directorate 100% WPLS | ||||||
Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the (a) initial start-up and (b) ongoing costs of each of the Big Society vanguard areas. [46542]
Greg Clark: I have been asked to reply.
It is estimated that approximately £100,000 per vanguard will be spent to cover the costs of developing and delivering their priorities.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 221W
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department has any plans to monitor changes in levels of spending on the voluntary sector by (a) local authorities and (b) each Government department. [48465]
Mr Hurd: The Cabinet Office is working closely with partners in the voluntary sector and across all levels of Government to understand spending decisions and support the sector through this transitional period.
At a central Government level, officials are currently looking at the best way for departments to regularly report publicly on spending, both in terms of baseline levels and how these levels change through the spending period.
Spending decisions at a local government level are a matter for local authorities. However, at the start of February, the Minister for decentralisation the Minister of State, Department for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) wrote to local authorities to gain a better understanding as to how they are strengthening their ties with the voluntary and community sector. Ministers are paying close attention to what local authorities, individuals and community groups have been telling us, and we are considering how best to respond, building on the measures we have already announced to make it easier to build stronger ties with these groups, such as the Community Right to Challenge.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which ward in each parliamentary constituency had the highest level of unemployment in (a) June 2010 and (b) the most recent month for which figures are available; and what the level of unemployment was in each case. [52327]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking which ward in each parliamentary constituency had the highest level of unemployment in (a) June 2010 and (b) the most recent month for which figures are available; and what the level of unemployment was in each case. (052327)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS). Unfortunately the sample size does not support analyses of unemployment for the requested geography.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of the number of workless households in Milton Keynes. [51909]
Mr Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
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As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the recent estimate is for the number of workless households in Milton Keynes (51909).
The most recent estimate of the number of workless households by local area come from the Annual Population Survey (APS), and covers the period January-December 2009. Estimates for the economic activity status of households are only for households containing at least one person aged 16 to 64. A workless household is a household where no individuals aged 16 and over are in employment.
The number of workless households in Milton Keynes in 2009 is estimated to be 12,000. Data on workless households by local area are available on the ONS website at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme_labour/worklesshouseholdarea.xls
Estimates covering other annual periods (January-December) between 2004 and 2008 are also available via this link.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will publish the targets to be used to measure progress of the Government's Big Society initiative. [39006]
Mr Hurd: The Big Society is about building stronger communities, strengthening the links between individuals and enabling them to come together to solve problems in their local area. There are no targets in place to measure Big Society, although officials are considering innovative ways of tracking the progress of Big Society, without imposing reporting burdens on local initiatives.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the role of the Neighbourhood Helpers scheme in developing the big society; and if he will make a statement. [41883]
Mr Hurd: I am aware of a variety of Neighbourhood Helpers schemes around the country and of the good work they do within communities. In particular, Neighbourhood Helpers offer a level of support from within the community, at a fraction of the cost of public services. My Department is looking to build on this and similar ideas, for example by supporting the development of Time Banking nationally. Government are also developing the Community First fund which will support the creation of new and existing community groups.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to monitor reductions in provision to the voluntary sector by (a) local authorities and (b) each Government Department. [44598]
Mr Hurd: It is for local residents rather than central Government to uphold democratic accountability. As transparency is the foundation of accountability, all council business should be open to public scrutiny—including voluntary sector funding. The Government are consulting on a code of recommended practice to enshrine the principles of data transparency and to set out the minimum data that should be published.
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The Department for Communities and Local Government provides unhypothecated formula grant to local authorities, which they use to meet locally identified priorities. It has no plans to monitor how local authorities spend their formula grant allocations.
The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government set out on 1 March his ‘reasonable expectations’ of how local authorities will conduct themselves:
First that councils will not pass on disproportionate cuts to local voluntary and community groups and not inflict bigger reductions to their budgets than the councils take on themselves.
Second that councils will have been talking to voluntary and community groups at a very early stage about how services need to change.
Third that councils give voluntary and community groups at least three months notice when they think they need to end or alter a grant, or other support.
Fourth that they use these three months to give local groups a chance to make their case and suggest alternative ways of redesigning or reshaping the service.
Government Departments, too, need to understand the impact of reductions in provision to the voluntary and community sector, and officials are working together to ensure transparency between departments as decisions are made.
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will bring forward proposals to relocate (a) staff and (b) offices of his Department to Brighton; and if he will make a statement. [43476]
Chris Grayling: The deployment of staff and efficient use of office space is always subject to review. At the present time, there are no plans to relocate departmental staff and offices to Brighton.
However, one of the Department’s arm’s length bodies, The Pensions Regulator, is currently located in Brighton. As well as their core task of regulating occupational pension schemes, the Regulator’s role is expanding to oversee the compliance of employers with the workplace pension reforms coming into force from 2012.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many families in receipt of the childcare element of working tax credit had a child aged two or under in the latest period for which figures are available. [52512]
Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
The number of families benefiting from the child care element of working tax credits with at least one child aged two or under as at December 2010 is 108,520.
This information is based on tax credits snapshot data. More information about these data can be found at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-dec2010.pdf
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households he estimates were receiving assistance with childcare costs where (a) 80% or more and (b) 90% or more were covered in the latest period for which figures are available. [52513]
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Mr Gauke: I have been asked to reply.
The child care element of tax credits in 2010-11 covered up to 80% of child care costs of up to £175 a week for one child and £300 a week for two or more children. From April 2011, the proportion is 70%, reverting back to 2006 levels.
In addition, some families that are also entitled to housing benefit and/or council tax benefit will be able to disregard child care payments from their earnings in housing benefit and council tax benefit. Where this is the case, they may see over 90% of their costs covered. Data showing the number of households benefiting from the additional disregard in those benefits are not available.
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent representations he has received on the length of time taken to settle child support claims; and if he will make a statement. [50245]
Maria Miller: I have had no specific representations on this issue but I am aware that for some people the length of time to settle their child support claim is unacceptable and MPs’ post bags reflect this. The performance of the Child Support Agency is stable and their December 2010 quarterly summary of statistics shows that:
88.7% of intake received in September 2010 was cleared within 12 weeks.
The Government are continuing to invest in a new streamlined child maintenance scheme to replace the existing CSA schemes. This will be introduced in 2012 and will deliver a significantly improved service for parents. More details are set out in the consultation document:
Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/strengthening-families.pdf
Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Child Support Agency and its successor in ensuring appropriate maintenance payments are made; and what changes he proposes to make under the reformed statutory child maintenance system; [51637]
(2) what steps he is taking to improve the (a) efficiency and (b) effectiveness of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission; [51638]
(3) what steps he is taking to ensure that the reformed statutory child maintenance system will provide resident parents with (a) an efficient and (b) a coherent service. [51639]
Maria Miller:
Although the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission, which is also responsible for the Child Support Agency, has improved its effectiveness over the past few years, we recognise that much more needs to be done. More than 3 million children live in separated families, but only around 50% of those benefit from an effective maintenance arrangement. In addition the annual running costs of the statutory maintenance scheme are approximately £460 million, on average a
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cost of over 40p for each £1 of child maintenance collected or arranged and this does not represent value for money to the taxpayer.
Strengthening families, promoting parental responsibility: the future of child maintenance
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/strengthening-families.pdf
outlines our assessment of some of the issues of the current system and sets out our plans for the radical re-shaping of the child maintenance system.
We want to make it the norm in society that parents take responsibility for putting in place financial support for their children post separation. Research suggests that just over half of parents currently using the statutory maintenance scheme feel they could make their own financial arrangements for their children with the right help. For those families who cannot make a family-based arrangement, the Government are continuing to invest in a new streamlined child maintenance scheme to replace the existing CSA schemes in order to deliver a significantly improved service.
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was paid out in cold weather payments in respect of the weather station area covering Chatham and Aylesford constituency in each of the last five years. [52413]
Steve Webb: The information available is given in the following table.
| Estimated expenditure on cold weather payments in weather stations which covered the Chatham and Aylesford constituency in the last five years | |||||
| £ | |||||
|
|
2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| n/a = Not applicable: the weather station was not used in the cold weather payment scheme in that year. Zero denotes that there were no triggers for that weather station in that winter. Notes: 1. The information provided is management information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have management information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National Statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, figures given are estimates. Actuals are not available. 2. A cold weather payment is made to an eligible customer when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0° C or below over seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to the customer’s postcode. (When the temperature criterion is met, the weather station is said to trigger.) 3. Some weather stations listed are linked both to an area within the Chatham and Aylesford constituency and also to an area outside of it. Estimated numbers given are for the weather station as a whole, not for the part of the Chatham and Aylesford constituency linked to the weather station. 4. Some postcode to weather station linkages have changed from one year to the next, so estimated numbers are not always comparable from year to year. 5. Estimated numbers are for cold weather payments triggered in the relevant financial year. 6. Cold weather payments are made to benefit units. A benefit unit can be a single person or a couple and can include children. 7. Some benefit units received more than one payment in some years. 8. Estimated expenditure has been rounded to the nearest £100. Sources: Postcode districts in Chatham and Aylesford constituency: analysis of National Statistics Postcode Directory. Postcode district to weather station links: Department for Work and Pensions records. Estimated numbers: scans of benefit computer systems taken at the end of October each year giving the number of potential qualifiers for cold weather payments by weather station; Department for Work and Pensions records of triggers; Department for Work and Pensions records of the total number of payments actually made by benefit computer system and clerically. | |||||
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Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people resident in the weather station area covering Chatham and Aylesford constituency qualified for cold weather payments in each of the last five years. [52414]
Steve Webb: The information available is as follows:
| Estimated recipients of at least one cold weather payment in each of the weather stations which cover the Chatham and Aylesford constituency in the last five years | |||||
|
|
2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
| ‘n/a’ denotes not applicable. The weather station was not used in the cold weather payment scheme in that year. ‘0’ denotes that there were no triggers for that weather station in that winter. Notes: 1. The information provided is Management Information. Our preference is to answer all parliamentary questions using Official/National Statistics but in this case we only have Management Information available. It is not quality assured to the same extent as Official/National Statistics and there are some issues with the data, for example, figures given are estimates. Actuals are not available. 2. A cold weather payment is made to an eligible customer when the average temperature has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0°C or below over seven consecutive days at the weather station linked to the customer's postcode. (When the temperature criterion is met, the weather station is said to trigger.) 3. Some weather stations listed are linked both to an area within the Chatham and Aylesford constituency and also to an area outside of it. Estimated numbers given are for the weather station as a whole, not for the part of the Chatham and Aylesford constituency linked to the weather station. 4. Some postcode to weather station linkages have changed from one year to the next, so estimated numbers are not always comparable from year to year. 5. Estimated numbers are for cold weather payments triggered in the relevant financial year. 6. Cold weather payments are made to benefit units. A benefit unit can be a single person or a couple and can include children. 7. Some benefit units received more than one payment in some years. 8. Estimated numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100. 9. The question has been interpreted as requesting the number of people who received at least one cold weather payment as opposed to the number of people who were eligible to receive a payment. Sources: Postcode districts in the Chatham and Aylesford constituency: analysis of National Statistics Postcode Directory. Postcode district to weather station links: Department for Work and Pensions records. Estimated numbers: Scans of benefit computer systems taken at the end of October each year giving the number of potential qualifiers for cold weather payments by weather station; Department for Work and Pensions records of triggers; Department for Work and Pensions records of the total number of payments actually made by benefit computer system and clerically. | |||||
Mr Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the (a) number and (b) monetary value was of applications for (i) community care grants, (ii) crisis loans and (iii) budgeting loans in Oxford in the most recent year for which figures are available; and what amounts were granted consequent upon such application in each category. [51792]
Steve Webb: The information requested is not available. Geographical information is only available by Jobcentre Plus social fund budget area or Government office region.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many crisis loans have been granted to residents of Vale of Clwyd constituency in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [51768]
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Steve Webb: The information requested is not available at constituency level but only by Jobcentre Plus Social Fund budget area or Government office region.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2011, Official Report, column 856W, on departmental public appointments, for what reasons the answer referred to a website which does not provide current information; and how many (a) men and (b) women who held public appointments in bodies sponsored by his Department are no longer in those roles as a result of decisions to merge, close or reorganise such bodies taken since his appointment. [51443]
Chris Grayling: My previous answer referred the hon. Lady to the latest available published information.
I can now inform the hon. Lady that as a result of decisions to merge, close or reorganise public bodies sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions:
(a) Five men and ten women who were public appointees, are no longer in those roles; and
(b) Subject to Royal Assent of the Public Bodies Bill, a further eight men and six women, who are public appointees, will no longer be in those roles.
Mr Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of civil servants in his Department are entitled to travel first class by rail within the UK. [47063]
Chris Grayling: DWP have an outright ban on first class travel, with one exception, staff with a disability/medical condition who can not secure suitable standard class facilities are still permitted to travel in first class.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what regulations his Department introduced between 9 and 28 February 2011. [46953]
Chris Grayling: The information is contained in the following table.
| SI Number | Title | Made | Laid | Coming into force |
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps his Department is taking to encourage local authorities to provide support to those who will no longer meet eligibility criteria for disability living allowance. [43149]
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Maria Miller: As part of the reform of DLA mobility, we are exploring the current responsibilities of local authorities and looking at what they provide in practice.
We will ensure that when we introduce personal independence payment from April 2013 it treats disabled people fairly, regardless of their place of residence; reducing overlaps of public spending, not disabled people’s ability to get out and about.
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will assess the potential effects of his planned changes to disability living allowance on charitable organisations. [45100]
Maria Miller: We are working with disabled people and organisations who represent them on the detailed design and delivery of personal independence payment. This will help inform our understanding of the impacts of changes on both disabled people and any impacts on disability organisations.
We are still working on the design of the assessment and the operational processes and intend to continue working with disabled people and disability organisations as we take this work forwards. We would expect individuals to be accessing the relevant support services, regardless of benefit receipt.
The Department will continue to work closely with the charity Motability to understand the impacts of the reformed system of personal independence payment on Motability. Motability will continue to play an important role, going forward, in supporting the mobility of severely disabled people who are entitled to mobility component of personal independence payment.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what plans he has to reduce the number of claimants in receipt of disability living allowance for (a) mobility component and (b) care component at the higher rate. [50439]
Maria Miller: From 2013-14 disability living allowance will be replaced by personal independence payment, a new, more transparent and sustainable benefit with an objective assessment of individual need.
We are finalising the design of personal independence payment. The assessment will look at people as individuals, rather than labelling them as part of a group, or with a particular health condition or impairment. As the new assessment is not launched I am unable to predict the outcome of the assessment and precisely which individuals will see a change in entitlement.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2011, Official Report, column 43W, on disability living allowance, if he will estimate the cost of providing the mobility component of the allowance to new and existing child claimants in each of the next four financial years. [50445]
Maria Miller: The following table shows forecast of expenditure on mobility component of DLA for children in each of the next four financial years.
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|
|
Expenditure (£ million) |
| Notes: 1. Expenditure has been rounded to the nearest million pounds. 2. Figures are based on the Budget 2011 forecast and include the delay to the care homes measure. Source: Budget 2011 Expenditure Forecast. | |
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of the disability living allowance for the (a) mobility component and (b) care component at the higher rate in each of the last five years. [50523]
Maria Miller: The information is as follows:
| Disability living allowance recipients with higher rate care component or higher rate mobility component | ||
| As at August each year | Higher care rate | Higher mobility rate |
| Notes: 1. Case load figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Data are for the number of people in receipt of an allowance, and exclude people with entitlement where the payment has been suspended, for example if they are in hospital. 3. DLA recipients can be paid both the higher rate for care and the higher rate for mobility 4. These figures are published at http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 100% WPLS | ||
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled children living in a residential school or care home were in receipt of the mobility component of disability living allowance on the most recent date for which figures are available. [51724]
Maria Miller: There are 2,000 children in residential care (which includes children in residential special schools) of which 1,200 are in receipt of the lower rate mobility component and 800 are in receipt of the higher rate component.
Bob Blackman: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to reduce barriers to attending further education courses away from home for individuals in receipt of mobility allowance. [41398]
Maria Miller:
The Department for Work and Pensions administers the mobility component of disability living allowance. This benefit is paid in respect of a person’s mobility needs and is for them to meet any needs as they
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choose, including the additional disability related travel cost an individual may incur as a result of attending a further education course.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which has policy responsibility for further education, supports schemes, such as the Residential Support Scheme and Adult Discretionary Learner Support, that facilitate access to further education by disabled people. Through Additional Learning Support there is also direct support for FE colleges and training organisations to enable them to help learners access, progress towards and successfully achieve their learning goals.
Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the level of disability living allowance payments in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in (a) April 2011 and (b) April 2012. [51266]
Maria Miller: The information requested is not available as forecasts are not made at constituency level.
The latest information available is from August 2010, which gives the average weekly amount of disability living allowance payments for Motherwell and Wishaw constituency as £75.48.
Uprating is 3.1% in 2011 and the Office of Budgetary Responsibilities assumption for 2012 is that uprating will be 4.3%.
Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many recipients of disability living allowance in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency will be subject to objective assessment in 2011-12. [51308]
Maria Miller: From 2013 disability living allowance for people of working age will be replaced by personal independence payment, a new, more transparent and sustainable benefit with an objective assessment of individual need. We will begin reassessing working-age individuals in receipt of DLA using the new objective assessment for personal independence payment from 2013.
Until 2013, new claims to DLA and changes of current DLA claims will continue to be assessed using the current process.
In 2010-11 there were around 30,000 face-to-face medical examinations conducted across Great Britain to help determine eligibility for DLA, at new claim and renewal of awards(1). We are unable to provide an estimate for the number of face-to-face medical assessments expected to take place in Motherwell and Wishaw in 2011-12.
(1) This figure is from an Operational data source which does not capture all DLA activity, however we know that around 90% of new claim and renewal decisions are recorded in this data. This limitation means that this result should be treated as an estimate only.
Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his estimate is of the reduction in monetary value of disability living allowance paid to claimants in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency as a result of the consumer prices index replacing the retail prices index for uprating of benefits and tax credits in 2011-12. [51309]
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Maria Miller: The Chancellor announced in the emergency budget that from 2011 the Consumer Price Index (CPI) will be used to measure the growth in prices for the purposes of uprating disability living allowance and attendance allowance.
We believe that the CPI is a more appropriate and stable measure of the cost of living for recipients of disability living allowance and attendance allowance than the retail price index (RPI) because the cost of goods and services which are used to measure it are more relevant to these benefit recipients. CPI is also the headline of inflation in the UK and the one that is reported in the press and is internationally recognised.
| £ | ||
| Rate of DLA | 2011-12 Projected rates uprated by RPI | 2011-12 Actual rates uprated by CPI |
| Notes: Actual 2011-12 rates are calculated by adding CPI (3.1%) to 2010-11 rates. These in turn were 1.5% higher than 2009-10 rates. Under the previous policy, in order to recover the 1.5% advance in 2010-11 (when the RPI figure driving uprating was negative), 2011-12 rates would have been 2009-10 rates plus RPI (4.6%), yielding a slightly lower figure. All calculations are rounded to the nearest 5p. | ||
Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the weekly cost to the public purse of payments of disability living allowance in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in the latest period for which figures are available. [51314]
Maria Miller: The average weekly cost of paying disability living allowance in Motherwell and Wishaw constituency in 2009-10 was £549,000.
Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he plans to take on the establishment of an Employers Liability Tracing Office (ELTO); when he expects the ELTO to (a) be established and (b) become operational; whether he plans to publish the outcomes of his Department’s consultation on ELTO; and if he will make a statement. [51819]
Chris Grayling: There were two proposals in the consultation; firstly an Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO), that would manage a database of Employer Liability policies. Secondly, an Employers’ Liability Insurance Bureau which would be a compensation fund of last resort for those individuals who are unable to trace EL insurance records.
The Association of British Insurers has been working to establish an ELTO which is due to go live this spring.
I appreciate that the Government’s response to the consultation is taking longer to publish than we had hoped for. However the issues raised are complex and to ensure we get this right we have been in active discussions with all stakeholders since the public consultation closed.
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We are still carefully considering how to progress the matter to achieve an appropriate outcome and we will bring forward our proposals in due course.
Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what proportion of employment and support allowance claimants were in (a) the work-related activity group and (b) the support group in (i) February and (ii) May 2009. [46503]
Maria Miller: Information on the number and proportion of employment and support allowance (ESA) claimants by Phase/Stage of claim is not available for the periods February 2009 and May 2009.
Figures for Phase/Stage of claim are only available from February 2010 onwards.
For the right hon. Gentleman’s information, the February 2010 and May 2010 figures are shown in the following table.
| Number and proportion of employment and support allowance claimants in the work-related activity group and support group | |||
|
|
Total number of ESA claimants | Percentage of ESA claimants in work-related activity group | Percentage of ESA claimants in support group |
| Notes: 1. Employment and support allowance (ESA) replaced incapacity benefit for new claims from 27 October 2008. 2. The phase is derived from payment details held on the source system. Where the claimant is not in receipt of any benefit payment then the stage of benefit is shown as unknown. 3. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10; percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study | |||
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the potential savings to his Department of setting the maximum length of claim for employment and support allowance at (a) one and (b) two years. [47019]
Maria Miller: As part of The Welfare Reform Bill we intend to introduce a one-year time limit to contributory employment support allowance for those in the Work Related Activity Group. This change will be introduced in April 2012 and will have an immediate effect on people who are currently claiming contributory employment and support allowance as well as new claims.
People in the Support Group will not have their benefit time limited because they have the most severe health conditions or disabilities and are the least likely to move into work.
People receiving income-related employment and support allowance will not have their benefit time limited.
The details for this measure can be found in the Regulatory Impact Assessment which can be accessed via the following link:
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/esa-time-limit-wr2011-ia.pdf
We are unable to estimate the savings for such measures as they would depend upon the costs of any additional support mechanisms that would need to be put in place
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to avoid leaving people with no access to the benefits system, and any savings would also be dependent on the introduction of universal credit.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to his Department of requiring employment and support allowance claimants who are cancer patients in receipt of oral chemotherapy or radiotherapy treatment to undertake work capability assessments in each of the next four years. [47014]
Maria Miller: The National Statistics datasets on employment and support allowance claimants do not contain any information about whether cancer patients are receiving chemotherapy or radiotherapy. The information requested cannot therefore be provided.
Statistics on employment and support allowance claimants by duration of claim and medical condition data are available and these are published on the Department’s website at:
http://83.244.183.180/100pc/tabtool.html
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many (a) enterprise clubs and (b) work clubs are planned for each (i) region, (ii) local authority area and (iii) parliamentary constituency. [51781]
Chris Grayling: Work Clubs and Enterprise Clubs are designed and delivered locally with some support from Jobcentre Plus. We do not set specific expectations or targets for the number of Work Clubs or Enterprise Clubs, allowing them instead to grow organically in communities, making the best use of local energy, expertise and resources. The data requested are therefore not available.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what budget his Department has allocated to support (a) enterprise clubs and (b) work clubs in 2011-12. [51782]
Chris Grayling: In the Budget we announced an extension of funding aimed to support those interested in setting up a Work Club or an Enterprise Club, increasing the amount available to £3 million in 2011-12.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many places on employment schemes other than Remploy supported by his Department are available in Bassetlaw constituency. [51452]
Chris Grayling: The bulk of the employment programme provision funded by the Department for Work and Pensions is based on the need for employment support, rather than on a fixed number of places. When the new Work programme is introduced over the summer there should be a place for everyone meeting the eligibility criteria.
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Mr Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what provisions will be made for deaf people under the Government's Work programme proposals. [52133]
Chris Grayling: The Work programme will cater for a wide range of customer groups, including many with disabilities and health issues.
Harder to help customers will be able to access the programme early if appropriate and we will pay providers more to support them. For example, if a provider supports a customer moving from incapacity benefits to employment and support allowance into sustained employment, they can earn almost £14,000.
We have not told providers what they must do to support customers except that they should provide a truly personalised service that addresses their customers' specific challenges. They will be free to innovate to find new and more effective ways of overcoming a range of disadvantages, including disabilities.
Many customers with disabilities are eligible for in work support through Access to Work, and those referred to the Work programme will remain eligible for the elements of this which providers could not reasonably be expected to offer.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether people with multiple sclerosis will exempted from the new employment support allowance assessment. [51671]
Chris Grayling: We are committed to supporting those who cannot work because of a health condition or disability, but we also want to help as many people as possible to find suitable work.
Entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA) is based on an individual's functional ability rather than the condition itself. Therefore, we have no plans to automatically exempt individuals with multiple sclerosis from the ESA assessment.
However, we recognise that asking customers to attend an unnecessary examination is in no one's interests. For new claims where an individual's condition is likely to qualify them for the ESA support group, or as part of the incapacity benefits reassessment process where entitlement criteria continues to be met, health care professionals will advise where possible on the basis of paper based evidence, thereby avoiding the need for a face to face assessment.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance LAC 5/19 applies to (a) school staff and (b) school children; and whether the HSE has considered amending the guidance in the light of (i) the Supreme Court judgment in Knowsley Metropolitan borough council v. Willmore and (ii) the conclusions of the Government advisory committee on risks from low level exposure to asbestos. [51981]
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Chris Grayling: Local authority circular (LAC) 5/19 provides technical guidance and is not school specific. In it HSE gives advice to local authority regulators and others on the risks from asbestos to enable them to answer inquiries about possible or inadvertent exposures. It includes generic advice for employers, employees and members of the public. To that extent school staff and school children, who may be inadvertently exposed if all the required systems fail to prevent significant exposures, are covered by the advice in the LAC.
There are no plans to revise the LAC as a direct result of the discussions of the HSE’s independent advisory committee WATCH (Working Group on the Assessment of Toxic Chemicals). It has been established for some time that the lower the exposure to asbestos, the lower the risk of disease, and that based on current evidence it is not possible to identify safe thresholds. The LAC’s medical advice to anyone concerned that they may have had significant exposure remains current.
Under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 employers are required to prevent exposure to asbestos and, if this is not reasonably practical, reduce exposure to the lowest level reasonably practicable below the control limit. Neither the WATCH conclusions, which are shortly to be published, nor the Supreme Court judgment in the recent civil law compensation case Knowsley Metropolitan borough council v. Willmore imply any alteration to the existing duties under the regulations are required.
The work to further advance our knowledge of risk at current exposure levels is ongoing and HSE will continue to keep this and related matters under review.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on raising the age threshold for the shared accommodation allowance. [50648]
Steve Webb: My Department has had regular discussions with the Department for Communities and Local Government both at ministerial and official level on the changes to the shared accommodation rate. These discussions are ongoing as the policy develops.
The Department has just completed a procurement exercise with leading research organisations for the evaluation and monitoring of the impact of the housing benefit measures.
The precise form of the evaluation is being determined with the successful contractor, but we anticipate that it will consider the availability and the likely effects of housing benefit reductions on rent levels in the private sector and include fieldwork examining the effects on different types of households in a range of areas across Great Britain.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the likely effects of housing benefit reductions on rent levels in the private sector. [50650]
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Steve Webb: The Department has just completed a procurement exercise with leading research organisations for the evaluation and monitoring of the impact of the housing benefit measures.
The precise form of the evaluation is being determined with the successful contractor, but we anticipate that it will consider the availability the likely effects of housing benefit reductions on rent levels in the private sector and include fieldwork examining the effects on different types of households in a range of areas across Great Britain.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on the likely effects on the availability of private rented accommodation for those under the age of 35 years of raising the age threshold for the shared accommodation allowance. [50651]
Steve Webb: My Department has had discussions with the Department for Communities and Local Government on the change to the shared accommodation rate both at ministerial level and official level. It is too soon to assess the behavioural responses of landlords or tenants to this and other changes being made to housing benefit.
The Department has just completed a procurement exercise with leading research organisations for the evaluation and monitoring of the impact of the housing benefit measures.
The precise form of the evaluation is being determined with the successful contractor, but we anticipate that it will consider the availability and the likely effects of housing benefit reductions on rent levels in the private sector and include fieldwork examining the effects on different types of households in a range of areas across Great Britain.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he has made an estimate of the number of landlords who will no longer let properties to those on housing benefit following the reduction on the rate of local housing allowance. [50673]
Steve Webb: The Department has just completed a procurement exercise with leading research organisations for the evaluation and monitoring of the impact of the housing benefit measures.
The precise form of the evaluation is being determined with the successful contractor, but we anticipate that it will estimate of the number of landlords who will no longer let properties to those on housing benefit following the reduction on the rate of local housing allowance.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the potential savings to the Exchequer of reducing housing benefit entitlement to household size in the social rented sector where 10% of tenants identified in his Department’s impact assessment leave the property they are underoccupying; and what estimate he has made of the potential savings that will accrue where this figure is (a) 20%, (b) 30%, (c) 40%, (d) 50%, (e) 60%, (f) 70%, (g) 80% and (h) 90% of those affected. [52434]
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Steve Webb: This information is not available. The potential impacts on savings of tenants leaving the property they are under-occupying are complex and subject to a great deal of uncertainty. They depend partly on the accommodation to which the tenant moves and the accommodation from which the new tenant taking up their property comes.
The details of the policy design are still being developed and we shall provide more information as this process progresses, particularly when we publish draft regulations.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households which would be affected by his proposed overall benefits cap who were placed in their accommodation under local authority prevention and relief of homelessness duties. [52462]
Steve Webb: We are introducing a cap on the total amount of benefit that working-age people can receive so households on out of work benefits will no longer receive more in benefit than the average weekly wage earned by working families.
No assessment has been made of the number of households which would be affected by this cap who were placed in their accommodation under local authority prevention and relief of homelessness duties.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of households deemed to be under-occupying their social rented accommodation who are in work but still receive some housing benefit in the latest period for which figures are available. [52464]
Steve Webb: Using information from the Department’s 2008-09 Family Resources Survey, we estimate that there are about 100,000 working households in receipt of housing benefit, living in the social rented sector and where the household is considered to be under-occupying their accommodation.
Notes:
1. Data for 2008-09 Family Resources Survey were collected between April 2008 and March 2009.
2. The Family Resources Survey is a nationally representative sample of approximately 23,000 households across Great Britain.
3. The Family Resources Survey is known to under-record benefit receipt so the estimate presented should be treated with caution.
4. Figures from the Family Resources Survey are based on a sample of households which have been adjusted for non-response using multi-purpose grossing factors which align the Family Resources Survey to Government office region population by age and sex. Estimates are subject to sampling error and remaining non-response error.
5. The figure has been rounded to the nearest 100,000.
6. Under-occupation has been estimated by applying the same criteria that applies to most housing benefit claimants living in the private rented sector.
7. Working households includes cases where the housing benefit claimant, their partner, or both the claimant and partner are working. No account has been taken of the number of hours that are worked or whether the claimant retains entitlement to other income-related benefits, such as income support.
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Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the portion of universal credit awarded as housing benefit can be paid directly to landlords. [51836]
Steve Webb: There are advantages in paying the housing component to individuals, rather than the current system of payments direct to landlords. This would encourage people to manage their own budget in the same way as other households.
However, we also recognise the importance of stable rental income for social landlords to support the delivery of new homes and will develop universal credit in a way that protects their financial position, Options for achieving this could include some ongoing use of direct payments to landlords, use of direct debits, and a protection mechanism which safeguards landlords' income. We will work closely with the devolved administrations, providers and lenders in developing the new system.
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many single people aged between 25 and 34 are claiming the one bedroom local housing allowance rate in each (a) local authority area and (b) broad rental market area. [51351]
Steve Webb: The Department published the “Two Year Review of the Local Housing Allowance” in February 2011, which includes the current caseload proportions claiming the one bedroom local housing allowance rate, in figure 2.11. A copy of the document has been placed in the Library.
The Department plans to publish an equality impact assessment for the shared accommodation rate changes within the next two months, to accompany the draft regulations. This will contain estimates of the numbers of single housing benefit claimants between the ages of 25 and 34 who will be affected by these changes.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effect of immigration to the UK of foreign-born millionaires and billionaires has on the collection and presentation of Government data on relative poverty. [52220]
Maria Miller: It is generally accepted that low income is central to any poverty measurement. Definitions of low income households are set out in the annual National Statistics publication “Households Below Average Income”. This reports numbers of individuals in households below or persistently below 50%, 60% and 70% of median household income both before and after deducting housing costs. One of the reasons why the median rather than the mean is used is because the median is much less affected by extreme values. Therefore any immigration of foreign-born millionaires and billionaires might have a very slight upwards effect on the median, but both the impact on the median and on the poverty statistics would be negligible.
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Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions with reference to the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require all employers to record risk assessment findings. [52375]
Chris Grayling: There are no plans to amend the Management of Health and Safety Regulations to require all employers to record the findings of their risk assessment regardless of how many people they employ. The Government does not believe such a change to be necessary or proportionate.
I have recently announced a review of health and safety regulation. Professor Ragnar Lofstedt, is leading the review and has been asked to make recommendations by the autumn on simplifying the current rules. The Government will then decide what actions to take in the light of those recommendations.
Mr Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many sanctions were issued by each Jobcentre Plus centre in the last six months for which figures are available. [51663]
| Jobseeker's allowance: Sanctions May to October 2010 (referrals with an adverse decision) | ||||
| Jobcentre Plus region | Varied length sanctions | Fixed length sanctions | Entitlement decisions | All sanctions |
| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Some additional disclosure has been applied. 2. The number of sanctions applied is the number of referrals where there has been an adverse decision. 3. Varied length sanctions are where the JSA claimant has their payment temporarily suspended for anything up to 26 weeks 4. Fixed length sanctions are where the JSA claimant has their payment temporarily suspended for either 2,4 or 26 weeks. 5. Entitlement decisions are where the JSA claimant has their entitlement to JSA ended. Source: DWP Information Directorate: JSA sanctions and entitlement disallowance decisions statistics database. Data are cumulative from April 2000 to current data extract date. | ||||
Mr Frank Field:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people currently making pension contributions who will receive a lesser return on their
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contributions as a result of implementation of his proposed reform; and what estimate he has made of the average loss per such contribution of the first 12 months following retirement. [51953]
Steve Webb: The Government's consultation paper ‘A state pension for the 21st century’, published on 4 April 2011, set out two high level options for state pension reform. Following the consultation process the Government will be considering all the responses to our options for delivering a simpler and fairer state pension. As policy development is still under way it is not possible to provide detailed information on impacts at this stage.
However the Government have made it clear that were we to proceed with plans for a single tier pension we would continue to honour contributions to the current system.
We will provide a full assessment of impacts when the Government publish more detailed proposals for reform.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effect on social mobility of levels of poverty. [48612]
Maria Miller: The Department has not commissioned or undertaken analysis on the effect on social mobility of levels of poverty.
Undertaking evaluation of poverty's impact on social mobility is particularly difficult because of the absence of relevant data for long periods of time—that is, over the life-cycle and/or over more than one generation.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the position of the UK on international comparator tables for child poverty. [48611]
Maria Miller: Relative income poverty (households with less than 60% of the median income) is the conventional measure of child poverty used internationally. In 2009, the UK had the eleventh highest level of children in relative income poverty among members of the European Union. This Government recognise that income measures and targets do not tell the full story about the causes and consequences of childhood disadvantage. The Government’s child poverty strategy, published 5 April 2011, is a comprehensive three year plan to lay the foundations for a new and more effective approach. We plan to tackle head-on the causes of poverty, such as worklessness and low educational attainment, which underpin low achievement, aspiration and opportunity across generations.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what date a Minister last visited the Remploy site in Worksop. [51254]
Maria Miller: There is no recent record of a ministerial visit to the Worksop site. I have visited and met employees at the Acton and Coventry factories and the Coventry Employment Services branch.
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I will continue to visit Remploy sites and will always listen to the views of Remploy employees and all those who have a close interest in Remploy.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many former service personnel Remploy has employed since 1981. [51298]
Maria Miller: Remploy have confirmed that they do not record information on the former employment of its employees.
Remploy Employment Services is actively engaged with two Ministry of Defence programmes: the Career Transition Partnership (CTP), which provides support for former service personnel to find employment with mainstream employers; and the Army Recovery Capability (ARC) which supports service personnel from the point of injury or illness to their return to duty, or into civilian life.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) whether he has discussed with Bassetlaw Council any potential change of use for the site occupied by Remploy in Worksop; [51453]
(2) what estimate he has made of the book value of the land occupied by the Remploy site in Worksop; [51256]
(3) what discussions he has had with the private sector on the sale of Remploy facilities in Worksop. [51377]
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Maria Miller: Remploy as part of its five year modernisation plan is developing a social enterprise model in five sites including the Worksop factory. In Worksop, social enterprise businesses have been developed in carpentry and catering and the company will continue to explore, with the factory employees, any social enterprise opportunities in their local area.
The recent voluntary redundancy exercise has been offered to all staff in Remploy's Enterprise Businesses including staff in Worksop. The company have confirmed that no factory will close as a result of this exercise.
There are no plans to change the use of the site and we are not aware of any discussions with Bassetlaw council, or other parties regarding any change of use, value of or sale of the Worksop site.
Tracey Crouch: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in (a) Medway (b) Tonbridge and Malling and (c) Chatham and Aylesford constituency had been in receipt of benefits for (i) less than six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 18 months and (iv) 18 months and over on the latest date for which figures are available. [50047]
Maria Miller: The information requested is provided in the following table.
| Claimants of working age benefits in Chatham and Aylesford, Tonbridge and Malling parliamentary constituency, Tonbridge and Malling local authority and Medway—August 2010 | |||||
|
|
Total | Chatham and Aylesford parliamentary constituency | Tonbridge and Malling parliamentary constituency | Medway LA | Tonbridge and Malling LA |
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| Notes: 1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Duration for this analysis is the duration of the oldest benefit which the client is currently claiming. 3. State pension age: The age at which women reach state pension age will gradually increase from 60 to 65 between April 2010 and April 2020. This will introduce a small increase to the number of working age benefit recipients and a small reduction to the number of pension age recipients. Figures from May 2010 onwards reflect this change. For more information see: http://statistics.dwp.gov.uk/asd/espa.pdf 4. Statistical group is a hierarchical variable. A person who fits into more than one category will only appear in the top-most one for which they are eligible. For example a claimant of disability living allowance and jobseeker's allowance would appear in ‘Job Seeker’, not in ‘Disabled’. 5. Statistical group ‘Lone Parents’ are defined as claimants on income support with child under 16 and no partner. Lone Parent Obligations were introduced from 24 November 2008 affecting the age of the youngest child. 6. From November 2008 the ‘incapacity benefits group’ includes employment and support allowance (ESA). ESA replaced incapacity benefit and income support (IS) paid on the grounds of incapacity for new claims from 27 October 2008. Prior to this the ‘incapacity benefits group’ referred to claimants of incapacity benefit (including credits only) or severe disablement allowance including people claiming IS on the grounds of incapacity. 7. ‘—’ Denotes nil or negligible. Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study | |||||
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that adults who are on the autistic spectrum have access to advocacy services to assist with applications for welfare benefits. [50892]
Maria Miller: Jobcentre Plus is committed to providing individual tailored support to customers with autistic spectrum conditions using our services. We make required reasonable adjustments, including making use of the most suitable environment or premises for conducting interviews. Where individual customers ask us to, we will work with their families, an advocate or representative to facilitate access to our services.
We ensure our advisers are aware of the need to make suitable adjustments for people with autistic spectrum conditions. Our specialist disability employment advisers also receive additional skills training including provision about autism.
Our “Raising the Game on Disability” seminars also promote disability awareness and confidence and are available to all Jobcentre Plus staff. The seminars feature advice on working with customers with autism.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of (a) his Department’s expenditure on and (b) the number of people claiming each benefit for which his Department is responsible in each year to 2015. [51563]
Chris Grayling: The requested information, consistent with the 2011 Budget, is due to be published on 21 April 2011 at the following website:
http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/index.php?page=expenditure
A copy will be placed in the Library at the same time.
Information consistent with the 29 November autumn statement can currently be found at the above website.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with groups representing (a) people with disabilities and (b) older people on the proposed digitalisation of the benefits system; and if he will make a statement. [43129]
Steve Webb:
My Department is committed to understanding the experience of older and disabled people when developing digital benefit services. The
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new state pension and jobseeker's allowance online services were developed and tested with those customers. We will continue to involve users and consult representative groups and partners in the design of online benefits. This will include identifying how we can assist those people who might need help to use digital technology as we make more benefits accessible on line. Where necessary, we will maintain telephony and face to face channels for vulnerable customers and complex transactions.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will take steps to prevent women in employment becoming unemployed before they reach the state pension age. [50501]
Steve Webb: The Government’s Age Positive initiative continues to present the business benefits to employers of retaining older workers. Age Positive is working with key business sector leaders to introduce flexible working and retirement practices that allow older people to continue working. Offering more flexible and part-time working can help older people stay in employment up to state pension age and beyond.
The Government will consult later in the spring on proposals to extend the right to request flexible working to all workers in order to help women and men of all ages remain in employment.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr. Bain) of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 970W, on universal credit, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the Exchequer of top-up funds paid to families who will have their entitlement decrease as a result of the introduction of the universal credit. [51512]
Chris Grayling: The Government have made a commitment that there will be no cash losers purely as a result of the move to universal credit. At the point of change a comparison will be made between current amount received in tax credits and/or benefits and the household entitlement under universal credit. If the universal credit entitlement is less, and no other circumstances have changed, a cash amount will be paid in order to make up the difference.
Details of this protection have yet to be fully worked out but we would expect future increases in universal credit entitlement to reduce the need for transitional protection. Estimates during the transition period are not available.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr. Bain) of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 970W, on universal credit, whether people who have a decrease in their annual entitlement will receive a cash amount in order to make up the difference for (a) the first year and (b) subsequent years. [51513]
Chris Grayling:
The Government have made a commitment that there will be no cash losers as a result of the move to universal credit. At the point of change a comparison will be made between the amount received
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in tax credits and/or benefits and the household entitlement under universal credit. If the universal credit entitlement is less, and no other circumstances have changed, a cash amount will be paid to make up the difference.
The maximum amount of cash protection will be fixed at the point of change and will continue to be paid until the value of the award under the new system catches up with the old entitlement.
We are still considering the details of this major transition to ensure that it is affordable and fair.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Mr. Bain) of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 970W, on universal credit, if he will estimate how many families with savings between £6,000 and £16,000 will have an average reduction of £210 in their annual entitlement as a result of the introduction of the universal credit in each (a) constituency, (b) local authority area and (c) region. [51514]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
Sample sizes are too small to yield estimates for the number of families with savings between £6,000 and £16,000 who will see an average reduction of £210 in their annual entitlement as the result of the introduction of the universal credit in each (a) constituency, (b) local authority area and (c) region.
Transitional protection will ensure that there are no cash losers at the point of transition as a result of changes in the way benefit is calculated.
Mr Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow North East, (Mr. Bain) of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 970W, on universal credit, if he will estimate how many families with savings above £16,000 will have an average reduction in their annual entitlement of £2,720 as a result of the introduction of the universal credit in each (a) constituency, (b) local authority area and (c) region. [51515]
Chris Grayling: The information requested is not available.
Sample sizes are too small to yield estimates for the number of families with savings above £16,000 who will see an average reduction of £2,720 in their annual entitlement as the result of the introduction of the universal credit in each (a) constituency, (b) local authority area and (c) region.
Transitional protection will ensure that there are no cash losers at the point of transition as a result of changes in the way benefit is calculated.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how those without access to a bank account will receive universal credit payments. [51837]
Chris Grayling: Direct payment into an account is the way the Department normally pays all benefits, pensions and allowances.
Universal credit customers without access to mainstream bank, building society or credit union accounts can be paid as appropriate either through the Post Office card account or the new payment service which will replace cheque payments from 2012.
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Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate has been made of the number of people in (a) Stockton North constituency and (b) the Stockton-on-Tees borough council area who would qualify for assistance under the Warm Front scheme (A) before and (B) after the changes to the qualification criteria. [51196]
Gregory Barker: I have been asked to reply.
The data requested are not available. Eligibility for the Warm Front scheme has not been estimated below national level.
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Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of providing winter fuel allowance to those (a) aged 60 to 79 at the rate of (i) £200 and (ii) £250 per year and (b) aged 80 or over at the rate of (A) £300 and (B) £400 per year in (1) Wansbeck constituency and (2) the county of Northumberland in each of the next four calendar years. [51350]
Steve Webb: The information is not available as requested. Forecasts of winter fuel payments are made on financial years rather than calendar years.
The information that is available is in the following tables:
| Wansbeck constituency | |||||
| Winter fuel payment expenditure (£ million, in-year prices) | |||||
| Winter fuel payment rates | Age group | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
| Northumberland | |||||
| Winter fuel payment expenditure (£ million, in-year prices) | |||||
| Winter fuel payment rates | Age group | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 |
| Notes: 1. Expenditure on winter fuel payments is rounded to the nearest £100,000. Age breakdowns may not sum to totals due to rounding. 2. Expenditure on the “79 and under” age group includes payments to people over women's state pension age, which is increasing from 60 to 65 between 2010 and 2018. People under women’s state pension age (both men and women) are not eligible for winter fuel payments. 3. Projections of winter fuel payments on a constituency and local authority level use latest administrative data to apportion total Great Britain (GB) expenditure over the requested geography. Therefore they do not allow for potentially different trends between these geographical units and Great Britain overall. 4. GB forecasts of winter fuel payments are consistent with Budget 2011 forecasts. Source: Budget 2011 forecasts and projections based on DWP statistical data | |||||
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions for what reasons his Department did not accept the recommendations of the Social Security Advisory Committee on the introduction of the Work Capability Assessment Regulations (S.I., No 228, 2011). [49262]
Chris Grayling: The Social Security Advisory Committee recommended proceeding with some changes but delaying others until they have been considered in light of the findings of the Independent Review. We do not agree with this approach.
We believe that the WCA needs to be continuously improved over time and the changes we made as a result of the Regulations (S.I. No 228 2011) are part of this improvement process. These changes were undertaken following significant consultation with technical experts and disability groups to refine the WCA.
They improve the assessment and make the technical descriptors clearer and more consistent to apply. We also expect that they will increase the number of individuals with severe disabilities being allowed into the support group and ensure the assessment better accounts for an individual’s adaptation to their condition.
Since the Social Security Advisory Committee reported, Professor Harrington's independent review has also been published. We have committed to implementing all of his recommendations, many of these address concerns raised by SSAC. This will help us to further improve the WCA and refine the process.
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Maria Eagle: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities on what date (a) she and (b) each other Minister in the Government Equalities Office last used a Ministerial car while travelling in an official capacity; and how many times (i) she and (ii) each other Minister in her Department has travelled to their constituency in a Ministerial car since May 2010. [50199]
Lynne Featherstone: The Minister for Women and Equalities does not use a ministerial car. In her dual role as the Secretary of State for the Home Department she uses transport provided by the Metropolitan Police.
I last used a ministerial car on official Government Equalities Office (GEO) business on 29 March 2011. Since May 2010 I have made seven journeys to my constituency after attending official (GEO) events.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how much the Government Equalities Office has spent on ministerial travel by (a) ministerial car, (b) train, (c) bus, (d) commercial aircraft and (e) private aircraft since May 2010. [50208]
Lynne Featherstone: The Minister for Women and Equalities and I share dual roles between the Home Office and Government Equalities Office. We use transport provided by the Metropolitan police and the Home Office respectively. Details of our travel and expenditure are published quarterly on the Home Office website and expenditure on ministerial cars by the Department of Transport’s website.
On 1 April 2011 the Government Equalities Office joined the Home Office under a Machinery of Government Transfer.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 2W, on departmental public bodies, how many (a) women and (b) men are no longer members of public bodies for which she is responsible as a result of mergers, reorganisations and abolitions resulting from decisions taken since May 2010. [51441]
Lynne Featherstone [pursuant to the reply, 28 March 2011, Official Report, c. 2W]: We announced the outcome of the cross-Government review of all public bodies on 14 October. The review was conducted in order to deliver our commitment, as set out in the coalition agreement, to reduce the cost and number of quangos.
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As part of that review, it was decided that the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will be retained and radically reformed, while the Women’s National Commission (WNC) would be closed down and its core functions brought into the Government Equalities Office (GEO).
The WNC closed in December 2010. All public appointments relating to the WNC came to an end as a result of its closure as follows:
(i) 15 women;
(ii) No men.
For the EHRC no public appointments have been affected as a result of the review to date.
Margaret Curran: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities (1) what accessible versions for disabled people of the Government Equalities Office consultation on the specific duties under the Equality Act 2010 she plans to produce; and if she will make a statement; [50441]
(2) when the Government Equalities Office plans to produce an easy-read accessible version of its consultation on the specific duties under the Equality Act 2010; and if she will make a statement. [50442]
Lynne Featherstone [holding answer 1 April 2011]: Previous documents on the public sector Equality Duty have been produced in ‘easy read’ format and are available in alternative formats on request. The policy review paper will also be published in this format next week. This version will focus on explaining the changes to the specific duties.
Any reasonable request for alternative accessible formats, such as Braille or large font, which are made to the Government Equalities Office, will be considered.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities (1) how much was spent from the public purse on consultation on the public sector equality duty draft specific duties regulations which took place between August and November 2010; [50003]
(2) how much staff time was spent on the consultation on the public sector equality duty draft specific duties regulations which took place between August and November 2010; [50004]
(3) what the cost to the public purse was of preparing the draft specific duties regulations published by the Government Equalities Office on 12 January 2011; [50005]
(4) how much staff time was spent on the draft specific duties regulations published by the Government Equalities Office on 12 January 2011; [50006]
(5) if she will estimate the cost to the public purse of consultation on the policy review paper on proposals for draft specific duties regulations announced on 17 March 2011; [50007]
(6) if she will estimate the amount of staff time which will be spent on the consultation on the policy review paper on proposals for draft specific duties regulations announced on 17 March 2011. [50008]
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Lynne Featherstone: Since June 2010, work to implement the public sector Equality Duty—including developing and consulting on the draft specific duties regulations, compiling the list of public bodies to which the Equality Duty should apply, and drafting guidance for public bodies on complying with the Equality Duty—has been the main task for a team of three policy officials, and about 50% of the work of a Government lawyer.
It is not possible to provide an exact breakdown of the staff time devoted to the each of the tasks identified in the questions.
In addition to staff costs, publishing the August 2010 consultation document cost £12,500. The draft regulations and the policy review paper were only published on-line, so incurred no additional costs.
Sandra Osborne: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what discussions she has had with (a) representatives of equality organisations and (b) public sector bodies on her decision to re-draft and re-consult on the specific duties of the Equality Act 2010 public sector equality duty. [51251]
Mrs May: As Minister for Women and Equalities I meet regularly with equality organisations and public sector bodies to discuss a number of issues.
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what estimate the Government Equalities Office has made of the level of savings which will accrue from the change in function of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. [48765]
Lynne Featherstone: Changes to the functions of the Equality and Human Rights Commission are one element of the proposed reform plans for the Commission, as set out in the consultation document published on 22 March.
We estimate that our reforms of the Commission will result in total savings of £84 million over the period to the end of the spending review (2014-15).
Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities how many visits overseas have been undertaken by members of the Equality and Human Rights Commission since its establishment; who travelled on each visit; whom they met; what the purpose was of each visit; and what the total cost was of each of these visits. [52471]
Lynne Featherstone: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (The Commission) is an arm's length body; the following is based on information it has provided.
The Commission undertakes overseas travel as required by its mandate as a National Equality Body and National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), for example, to attend meetings of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The number of overseas visits undertaken by board members or staff of the Commission since its establishment and the total cost of these visits is in the following table:
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|
|
Number of trips | Total cost of trips (£) | Actual cost incurred by the Commission (after reimbursements (1) ) (£) |
| (1 )A substantial proportion (estimated at around 50%) of these overseas travel costs are covered by the meeting organisers, and are then reimbursed to the Commission (for example from the European Commission, the Commonwealth Institute, the Council of Europe). Exact figures of reimbursement are only available from 2010/11. Figures for earlier years, and details of individual visits as requested in the question, are available only at disproportionate cost. | |||
Mr Lammy: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities whether the decision to re-draft and re-consult on the specific duties as part of the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010 has been discussed by the Inter-Ministerial Group on Equalities. [51742]
Lynne Featherstone: The Inter-Ministerial Group on Equalities meets quarterly to review progress on equality and implementation of Government’s Equality Strategy, published on 2 December 2011. In order to enable a free exchange of views between Ministers, details of discussion are not published.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities which public bodies with a remit which includes issues related to women and equalities have been merged, reorganised or abolished since May 2010; and if she will make a statement. [52138]
Lynne Featherstone: The Women’s National Commission which had a remit
“to make known to Government, by all possible means, the informed opinion of women,”
The Union Modernisation Fund Supervisory Board was closed in November 2010. It had a remit, which included women and equalities, to:
improve the ability of unions to respond to the increasing diversity of the labour market, and to supply services geared to the needs of a diverse membership;
capacity build for equality reps; and,
develop support mechanisms for vulnerable workers.
All public bodies are expected to take the Gender Equality Duty and, since 5 April 2011, the Equality Duty into account as appropriate in their day-to-day work.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 253W
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities when she plans to lay before Parliament regulations to provide for the new public sector equality duty. [46875]
Lynne Featherstone: The Government intend to make a commencement order bringing the equality duty into force on 5 April 2011.
Following further consideration of the draft specific duties regulations published on 12 January 2011, I have published today a policy review paper inviting comments by 21 April 2011 on new draft specific duties regulations designed to ensure that public bodies consider equality when carrying out their functions without imposing unnecessary burdens and bureaucracy.
Priti Patel: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what the cost was of the visit by the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission to the headquarters of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights in Vienna on 14 March 2011; who else participated in the visit; what the purpose of the visit was; what the mode, class and cost of travel was; and what the cost of accommodation used was. [52472]
Lynne Featherstone: The Equality and Human Rights Commission (the Commission) is an arm's length body; the following is based on information it has provided.
The total cost for the Commission's visit to the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) on 14 March 2011 was £1,918.18.
The following six staff participated in the visit (in addition to the chair): Director of Foresight; Director of Research; Head of Social Analysis and Foresight; Head of Research; Head of European and International Policy; and Senior Social Analyst.
The purpose of the visit was a learning exchange seminar hosted by the FRA for staff of both organisations. Its primary objective was to make links, share insights and learn from each other's work.
The chair and all Commission staff travelled by air in economy class.
The total cost of travel was £1,183.16. The total cost of accommodation was £735.02.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what assessment he has made of the likely effects on the redevelopment of the former MG Rover site at Longbridge of his proposals for disposal of land and property owned by Advantage West Midlands on the site; [51728]
(2) what plans he has for the future ownership of land and property owned by Advantage West Midlands on the former MG Rover site at Longbridge; and if he will make a statement. [51729]
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Mr Prisk: Each regional development agency, including Advantage West Midlands (AWM) has developed a detailed plan for the disposal and treatment of its assets and liabilities and scrutiny of these is on going. We have agreed aspects of AWM’s assets and liabilities plan and we are still in discussions about others, including the future of Longbridge. However, disposals will be made in a way that secures best value for the taxpayer and minimises costs. It will be for the AWM to set out a strategy for disposing of individual sites and assets.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what scientific advice he has received on the alternative testing techniques available to the cosmetics industry following the introduction of the prohibition on the testing of cosmetic products on animals in 2013. [50128]
Mr Davey: The National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of the use of animals in Research (NC3Rs)—an organisation funded by the Department—provides scientific input to policy on the development of alternative techniques for the testing of cosmetic products on animals.
Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) what representations he has received from representatives of the cosmetics industry on the preparedness of that industry for the prohibition on the testing of cosmetic products on animals in 2013; [50129]
(2) what representations he has made to the European Commission on the implementation in 2013 of the seventh amendment to Council Directive 76/768/EEC and Regulation (EC) No 1223/200 on the testing of cosmetics on animals. [50136]
Mr Davey: I have not received representations from the cosmetics industry, neither have I made representations to the European Commission on the subject.
Stephen Mosley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people were participating in apprenticeship schemes in City of Chester constituency (a) in April 2010 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [51157]
Mr Hayes: Table 1 shows the number of learners participating on an apprenticeship programme on 1 April 2010, and 1 January 2011 in the City of Chester parliamentary constituency.
| Table 1: Apprenticeship participation in the City of Chester constituency, 1 April 2010 and 1 January 2011. | |
| City of Chester constituency | Number of participants |
| Notes: 1. All Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. Geography information is based upon the home postcode of the learner. Source: Individualised Learner Record | |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 255W
The participation figures in this table show the number of apprentices in learning on the given dates. However, to ensure consistency and clarity, for comparative purposes we use the number of people starting an apprenticeship over the full academic year.
Information on the number of apprenticeship starts is published in a quarterly statistical first release (SFR). The latest SFR was published on 31 March 2011:
http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/statistics/statisticalfirstrelease/sfr_current
Andrew Stephenson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to encourage small and medium-sized businesses in Pendle constituency to take on apprentices; what recent representations he has received on this matter; and if he will make a statement. [50962]
Mr Hayes: The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) is working closely with employers and others to increase the number of apprenticeships in the Pennine and East Lancashire area. For example: working with the Chamber of Commerce in East Lancashire hosting breakfast briefings to increase awareness; and working with CXL, Jobcentre Plus and Enterprise 4 All, promoting apprenticeships to Asian and minority ethnic businesses across Lancashire.
Nationally, Government are focusing on making it easier for small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) in particular to take on new apprentices and recently announced a new £75 million programme of training and other targeted support focused specifically on SMEs to help them access advanced and higher level apprenticeships.
Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have had with the Arts and Humanities Research Council on strategic research priorities in the last 12 months. [50927]
Mr Willetts: Three meetings have taken place between Ministers and the Research Council chief executives since May. These included an introductory meeting with the Research Councils, and the growth and spending reviews. Officials have held numerous meetings with the Arts and Humanities Research Council in the past year. These covered issues relating to governance and sponsorship, and discussions around the spending review.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the benefit to businesses employing fewer than 10 people and start-ups of reduced administrative burdens and compliance costs arising from the moratorium exempting such businesses from new domestic regulations for the next three years. [51558]
Mr Prisk:
There are 4.6 million micro businesses in the UK and we know that when new regulations are
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introduced, it can take these businesses a disproportionate amount of time and effort to interpret, understand and comply with them.
The moratorium is intended to give micro businesses and start-ups breathing space from the constant flow of new domestic regulations and requirements. Combined with other measures announced in the Budget, such as improving regulatory guidance on Business Link and improving regulatory enforcement, we believe that the time and cost savings for micro businesses will be considerable.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officers of his Department since his appointment. [52004]
Mr Davey: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has not issued any ministerial directions to the accounting officer of the Department since his appointment.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many of his Department's staff have taken early retirement in each of the last five years; and at what cost to his Department in each such year. [49309]
Mr Davey: The number of early retirements in each year from 2006-07 to 2010-11 is given in the following table. Early retirements give rise to costs spread over a number of years. The table shows the total, multi-year cost associated with the early retirements that occurred in each year.
Staff can retire or be retired early in the circumstances prescribed by the Civil Service Management Code. There is only a cost to the Department where an enhanced early retirement package is provided under the Civil Services Compensation Scheme.
|
|
|
2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 | 2010-11 |
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department has had with (a) the Higher Education Funding Council for England, (b) Universities UK, (c) the Qualifications and Assessment Authority and (d) the Confederation of British Industry in each month since 1 January 2011. [51566]
Mr Willetts: I, my ministerial colleagues and the Permanent Secretary have had the following meetings with these organisations:
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|
|
January | February | March | April |
In addition there will have been other meetings with these organisations and departmental officials, which are not recorded centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will publish the evidence taken into account in the determination of the locations of the first 10 proposed enterprise zones announced in the 2011 Budget. [49423]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
Budget announced the first 11 local enterprise partnerships, outside London, which will host enterprise Zones. These were selected by clear criteria. Six of the 10 LEPs were selected on the basis that they encompass one or more of England's largest cities, ranked by population. The remaining four LEPs were selected on the basis of need, using the published location criteria that are used to assess bids to the Regional Growth Fund.
Economic Development in London is uniquely devolved. Government will therefore work with the Mayor of London to develop an EZ for London. Government will also work with the devolved Administrations to explore opportunities for developing enterprise zones across the UK.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what net change in the number of businesses he expects to be attributable to the introduction of enterprise zones. [51559]
Mr Prisk: Local areas are being asked to submit their bids with the aim to maximise business creation/growth and job creation. These bids will be assessed on their ability to drive this and create as many new businesses as is possible.
An accurate number of the net change of businesses is not possible to supply at this stage as business rate discounts do not necessarily have a bearing as to the number of new businesses created. Other factors, such as the type of business and floor space, will also determine the level of business rate due.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what dates prior to the 2011 Budget Statement (a) he and (b) officials in his Department discussed with (i) local authorities and (ii) local enterprise partnerships designation of areas as an enterprise zone. [51952]
Mr Prisk: Discussions with both representatives from local authorities and local enterprise partnerships were handled by officials in the run up to the Budget. Ministers were not directly involved with the discussions but were kept informed.
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Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date each relevant (a) local authority and (b) local enterprise partnership was informed officially by his Department prior to the announcement of the 2011 Budget that its area had been selected as an enterprise zone. [51982]
Mr Prisk: Discussions with both representatives from local authorities and local enterprise partnerships were handled by officials in the run up to the Budget and they were informed of the decisions shortly before the Budget announcement. Ministers were not directly involved with the discussions but were kept informed.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the criteria local enterprise partnerships should consider in putting forward bids for the second tranche of enterprise zone awards. [52031]
Mr Prisk: The exact detail of the criteria that will be used to assess bids to host the second tranche of enterprise zones are still being developed. However Government have made clear that a key focus of the new enterprise zones will be around economic growth and job creation.
Ed Balls: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which Office of National Statistics standard geographical areas are to be covered by those enterprise zones with confirmed locations. [52142]
Mr Prisk: At present four enterprise zones sites have been confirmed, these are:
Liverpool—Wirral Waters
Manchester—Airport City
Nottingham—Boots Campus
London—Royal Docks
The exact boundaries for these enterprise zones have still to be confirmed.
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which (a) non-governmental organisations, (b) trade associations and (c) charities Ministers in his Department have met to discuss the Free Trade Agreement between the EU and India. [51127]
Mr Davey: The Department’s Ministers have met with a wide range of stakeholders to discuss the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA). These include those from trade associations, charities, and non-governmental organisations who have an interest in the FTA overall. In recent months this has included The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Limited and Tear Fund. In addition, officials regularly meet with a range of stakeholders who have an interest in the FTA.
Mrs Grant:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department plans to promote mentoring and sponsorship of women in the
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(a)
private and
(b)
public sector in order to increase the number of female senior executives. [51129]
Mr Davey: The Government welcome the review being undertaken by Lord Davies of Abersoch into women on boards, which recommends the consolidation and improvement of training provision for the development of potential board members for listed UK companies, including mentoring and sponsorship, and will be working with companies, business organisations and academia to encourage them to do so.
The Government have set an aspiration that by the end of the Parliament at least half of all new appointees being made to the boards of public bodies will be women, and will shortly set out their action plan to achieve this aim.
Mrs Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to encourage public companies to have a gender-balanced boardroom. [51134]
Mr Davey: The Government strongly welcome the review being undertaken by Lord Davies of Abersoch into women on boards which was published in February. We are working with the Financial Reporting Council, who will shortly launch a consultation on proposed amendments to the Corporate Governance Code, and with executive search firms, who will soon launch a Voluntary Code of Conduct covering search criteria and processes for FTSE 350 board appointments.
In addition we are working with key stakeholders, including chairmen, company secretaries, academia and business representative organisations to encourage companies to adopt other measures set out by Lord Davies of Abersoch in his business-led strategy, including publishing aspirational targets for the number of women on their boards in 2013 and 2015.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what plans he has to increase the number of higher education places offered in further education colleges. [51882]
Mr Willetts: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave on 4 April 2011, Official Report, column 687W to my hon. Friend the Member for Crawley (Henry Smith).
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he plans to take steps to raise the profile among graduates of the process and manufacturing industry. [51508]
Mr Prisk: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 29 March 2011, Official Report, column 307W. We began discussion at the Manufacturing summit on the scope for promoting manufacturing careers to graduates.
Mr Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on proposals for the
26 Apr 2011 : Column 260W
future commissioning of pre-registration, post-registration and continuous professional development healthcare courses in universities; and if he will make a statement. [52284]
Mr Willetts: My officials and I are working very closely with our colleagues in the Department of Health on issues which affect both the higher education and health sectors, as they take policy and funding decisions. BIS officials participate in the Health Education National Strategic Exchange which considers such issues, including the provision of health education courses and workforce planning.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many representations he has received on his plans to improve access to university for those from disadvantaged backgrounds in each month since 1 January 2011; and if he will make a statement. [51568]
Mr Willetts: Our records show that the Department has received the following numbers of parliamentary questions and general correspondence that relate to improving access to university for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
|
|
January | February | March |
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings he has held with external bodies to discuss universities which have not met the access benchmarks agreed with the Office of Fair Access in each month since 1 January 2011; and if he will make a statement. [51570]
Mr Willetts: No meetings have been held with outside bodies to discuss access benchmarks.
Each year the Higher Education Statistics Agency publishes performance indicators and benchmarks in relation to access that have been developed by the UK HE sector.
Any institution wishing to charge above £6,000 from 2012 will have to have in place an access agreement approved by the director of Fair Access. In guidance issued by the director to the sector on 8 March he made clear that he expected all institutions to establish their own indicators and benchmarks as part of new access agreements.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department had with representatives of the business community to discuss the relationship between universities and business in each month of 2011. [51804]
Mr Willetts:
All BIS Ministers and many of its officials are engaged in frequent meetings with representatives of the business community. The link between universities
26 Apr 2011 : Column 261W
and business often forms a regular part of such meetings, to discuss training, research, skills, innovation or enterprise issues.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department had with senior university staff to discuss the relationship between universities and business in each month of 2011. [51805]
Mr Willetts: BIS meets regularly with a wide range of senior university staff and officials from across the HE sector, including HEFCE, UUK, GuildHE, UCAS and the UKCES. The relationship between universities and business often forms part of such meetings when discussing training, research, skills, innovation or enterprise issues.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department had with senior staff of regional development agencies to discuss the relationship between universities and business in each month of 2011. [51806]
Mr Prisk: This Department did not have any meetings in 2011 with senior staff of regional development agencies (RDA) specifically to discuss the relationship between universities and business.
However in each of January and March 2011 BIS officials took part in the regular two-monthly meetings of the Regional Innovation Science and Technology Group (RIST). Membership of this group includes the RDA Innovation leads, BIS officials, and staff from TSB, RCUK and HEFCE. The meetings discuss a range of innovation issues. Collaboration at regional and local level between businesses and universities are an integral part of the agenda.
Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he will permit higher education courses currently delivered by further education colleges funded by a university to be funded directly by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [51881]
Mr Willetts: The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is legally responsible for funding individual institutions. Ministers have no role in the process. Currently the council directly funds 124 of the 249 FE colleges in England. We are though seeking to encourage new providers, including FE colleges, into the system. When the new funding system is introduced in 2012/13 funding will follow the informed choices of students rather than direct grant. Where colleges and other providers are able to offer high quality programmes at a price which offers good value for money, we would wish to see them able to expand. We will consult after any proposals on this are announced in the forthcoming Higher Education White Paper.
Mr Marsden:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to page 26 of the Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth strategy, what the evidential basis is for the assumption that one
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student place on the apprenticeships programme is equivalent to three Train to Gain places. [51483]
Mr Hayes: I will respond to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
The broad assumption that one student place on an apprenticeships programme is equivalent to three Train to Gain places derives from the following information.
The Skills Funding Agency Funding Guidance (see following) states that an apprenticeship takes on average twice the Guided Learning Hours of a Train to Gain place. In addition, apprenticeship courses include a number of additional elements, which together with provider uplifts as described in the Funding Guidance, result in apprenticeship student places being about three times the cost of Train to Gain places.
Courses can be fully funded by the Department or co-funded between the Department and the employer/learner.
The funding guidance for apprenticeships and Train to Gain can be found at the following addresses:
http://readingroom.lsc.gov.uk/SFA/ApprenticeshiFunding_Requirements_2010_11-v2_October.pdf
http://readingroom.skillsfundingagency.bis.gov.uk/sfa/ttg_funding_requirements_2010_11-v2_october.pdf
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential effects of measures set out in The Plan for Growth on neuroscience research in the UK. [52486]
Mr Willetts: The Plan for Growth set out the Government’s plans to put the UK on a path to sustainable, long-term economic growth. For the health and life sciences sector, which includes neuroscience and other medical research and development, measures in the Plan for Growth include streamlining regulation and improving the cost effectiveness of clinical trials, forming new translational research partnerships and ensuring educators provide skilled individuals the sector needs to grow.
Neuroscience research will continue to be supported both by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), where strategically relevant, and by the Medical Research Council (MRC).
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will ensure that the expertise built up by specialists working in One North East is retained in the North East. [51503]
Mr Prisk: Where we have identified the need for continuing functions, arrangements are being put in place to ensure ONE staff are transferred so that expertise is retained in the north-east. We are also working with ONE to ensure their knowledge assets are managed effectively and that useful knowledge is transferred or made available to relevant bodies, including those in the north-east.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 263W
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the potential to provide Government services through Post Office essentials branches. [51108]
Mr Davey: The Post Office Ltd is currently piloting Post Office Locals in some 60 locations across the UK, with plans to extend piloting activity this year.
Details of the precise Government services that will be offered through the final model will be a matter for the Post Office Ltd, using learning from current and future pilots. Recent research by Consumer Focus shows that over 95% of customer transactions by volume are already available in Post Office Local pilots—for example the collection of pensions and benefits.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills which Post Office financial services are not offered by a Post Office essentials service. [51101]
Mr Davey: Post Office Ltd is currently piloting Post Office Locals in some 60 locations across the UK, with plans to extend piloting activity this year.
Details of the precise financial services that will be offered through the final model will be a matter for Post Office Ltd, using learning from current and future pilots. Recent research by Consumer Focus shows that over 95% of total customer transactions by volume are already available in Post Office Local pilots—for example chip and pin cash deposits and withdrawals and postal orders.
Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) packets, (b) parcels and (c) large letters were posted in the UK in each of the last five years. [51111]
Mr Davey: There is no definitive source for this information. Royal Mail handles 68 million items of mail per day (small letters, large letters and parcels). The wider market for parcels has been fully deregulated since 1981 so is consequently difficult to measure. Postcomm valued the postal market at £11.4 billion in 2008.
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will ensure that the minimum requirements of the universal service obligation under the provisions of the Postal Services Bill 2010 are maintained at current levels for a period of not less than five years. [52438]
Mr Davey: The Government are committed to securing the universal postal service for everyone in the UK. This objective is at the heart of the Postal Services Bill.
The minimum requirements of the universal service are clearly set out in the Bill, which also puts in place new and stronger protections around the level of the universal service than are currently the case.
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The minimum requirements enshrined in the Bill are the same as we currently enjoy under existing legislation, with the addition of a free service for blind and partially sighted people. We have repeatedly confirmed that we have no intention of reducing these minimum requirements.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many representations he has received on the future of postgraduate (a) taught and (b) research degrees in each week since 1 January 2011; and if he will make a statement. [51567]
Mr Willetts: I and my ministerial colleagues regularly meet with stakeholders and receive letters on the future of postgraduate taught and research degrees. I have recently asked Professor Sir Adrian Smith to reconvene his Postgraduate Review Panel to look at the issue of taught postgraduate degrees.
The Government are committed to Britain being a world leading place to do research. This is why, despite enormous pressure on public spending, the overall level of funding for science and research programmes has been protected in cash terms within a ring-fenced budget.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 4 April 2011, Official Report, column 692W, on regional development agencies: assets, on what dates the meetings (a) he and (b) his officials had with (i) the Department for Communities and Local Government and (ii) HM Treasury on the options for disposal of assets owned by regional development agencies took place. [52441]
Mr Prisk: Officials have had weekly and sometimes twice weekly, meetings with both the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) and HM Treasury (HMT) to discuss the regional development agencies’ proposals for disposing and transferring their assets and liabilities. The subject of asset disposal is also discussed at the fortnightly National Transition Board on which both DCLG and HMT are regular members.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 4 April 2011, Official Report, column 692W, on regional development agencies: assets, on what dates and at what times he met (a) the chief executives and (b) staff of each regional development agency (RDA) on their proposals for the disposal of assets held by each RDA. [52442]
Mr Prisk: I, and my officials, have had eight meetings with the Chairs of the Regional Development Agencies (RDAs), discussing all related matters concerning the closure of the RDAs. The officials also have regular meetings with the chief executives and staff working on the closure of their RDAs. Three RDA chief executives sit as members of the National Transition Board. All matters concerning the transition to closure of the RDAs, including asset disposal, are discussed in the above.
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Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 23 March 2011, Official Report, column 1119W on regional development agencies: finance, whether he has identified assets which would potentially be suitable for transfer from regional development agencies to the Homes and Communities Agency. [51623]
Mr Prisk: Coalfields assets and liabilities will transfer to the Homes and Communities Agency. The disposal of other land and property assets, deemed not suitable for short-term market sale, is still being reviewed by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, the Department for Communities and Local Government and the regional development agencies.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to paragraph 2.159 of The Plan for Growth, what assessment he has made of the likely effect of capping the impact of levy-funded support on energy bills on the availability of funding for small and medium scale renewables. [52020]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
HM Treasury has responsibility for setting the overall cap for DECC’s tax and spending through policies that entail levy-funded spending, balancing the support needed to meet the Government's energy objectives with the need to minimise energy bill increases for consumers.
DECC has responsibility for managing their levy-funded spending policies such that they remain within the cap. It is therefore for DECC to determine the split of funding between and within policies, including the availability of funding for the support of small and medium-scale renewables.
Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to paragraph 2.159 of The Plan for Growth, which levies are to be affected by the proposal on the impact of levy-funded support on energy bills. [52021]
Justine Greening: I have been asked to reply.
The new control framework for DECC levy-funded spending covers the Renewables Obligation, Feed-In Tariffs and Warm Home Discount, to help ensure that, they achieve their objectives cost effectively and affordably. These policies are classified as tax and spend for National Accounts purposes. They operate by placing an obligation on energy companies to provide support to certain activities or groups.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many representations he has received on the future of research funding in each month since 1 January 2011; and if he will make a statement. [51569]
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Mr Willetts: The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and I have received representations on the future of research funding. This Government recognise the importance of research funding to the UK. That is why this Government are committed to investment in science and research as a major driver of economic growth—with a flat-cash, ring-fenced settlement for science and research funding of £4.6 billion pa for 2011-15.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with (a) his EU counterparts and (b) other organisations on the setting of targets for the proportion of gross domestic product spent on research and development. [52436]
Mr Willetts: The Secretary of State has not had discussions with neither his EU counterparts nor other organisations on the setting of targets for the proportion of gross domestic product spent on research and development.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he plans to publish the long-term plan for science for 2016 onwards. [52480]
Mr Willetts: The coalition Government’s long-term vision for science was published alongside their plans for science funding up to 2011-15 in December 2010.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what criteria he used to determine that his plan for science funding was sufficiently long-term in nature. [52479]
Mr Willetts: Resource funding was protected with a flat-cash, ring-fenced settlement for 2011-15 providing long-term stability and certainty to the research base. Key capital projects have been funded including the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI), Diamond and the Birth Cohort Study. An additional investment announced in the budget of £100 million in science investment projects, including ISIS, the International Space Innovation Centre and national research campuses, will develop infrastructure at national research campuses. These investments will protect national capability, maintain international competitiveness and maximise the economic and social benefits of research over many years.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2011, Official Report, column 509, on science and research, what time period constitutes the long term in the context of his plans for science funding. [52483]
Mr Willetts: The coalition Government’s long-term vision for science was published alongside its plans for science funding up to 2011 to 2015 in December 2010.
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Resource funding was protected with a flat-cash, ring-fenced settlement for 2011 to 2015 providing long-term stability and certainty to the research base. Key capital projects have been funded including the UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation (UKCMRI), Diamond and the Birth Cohort Study. An additional investment announced in the budget of £100 million in science investment projects, including ISIS, the International Space Innovation Centre and national research campuses, will develop infrastructure at national research campuses. These investments will protect national capability, maintain international competitiveness and maximise the economic and social benefits of research over many years.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the international ranking of the UK for science funding measured (a) in absolute terms and (b) as a proportion of gross domestic product in each of the next five years; and what estimate he has made of the likely effects of public sector funding for science on private sector funding in each such year. [52492]
Mr Willetts: It is not possible to make an estimate for other countries as we do not have access to their funding plans for the next five years on a comparable basis to the UK. The OECD publish retrospective data on science funding by country.
The UK’s research base is world class: second in the world only to the USA for number of citations, and the most productive in the G8. The ring-fenced flat cash science and research funding together the £100 million additional capital investment announced in the Budget will protect national capability, maintain international competitiveness and maximise the economic and social benefits of research over many years.
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many meetings his Department has had on the creation of a fund to allow the allocation of student places to for-profit institutions since his appointment. [51548]
Mr Willetts: The Department has not held meetings to discuss the creation of a fund to allow the allocation of student places to for-profit institutions. However, the Department is considering how student number controls might apply in the future regulatory system, including options for a fund to support expansion of those providers which best offer students high-quality programmes at a price that represents good value. We will consult after any proposals are announced in the forthcoming Higher Education White Paper.
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what meetings he has had since September 2010 with representatives of (a) Tesco, (b) Sainsbury's, (c) Asda, (d) Morrisons and (e) trade associations of which these companies are members. [52210]
Mr Prisk:
Since September 2010, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has met with Tesco on 8 September 2010 and
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attended the British Retail Consortium parliamentary reception on 2 November 2010, at which representatives of at least one of the companies referred to were present.
Mr Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (1) how much his Department has spent on the development of the East London Tech City to date; [51577]
(2) what recent assessment he has made of the development of the East London Tech City initiative; and if he will make a statement; [51578]
(3) what estimate he has made of the number of jobs attributable to the East London Tech City initiative; [51579]
(4) what financial incentives he plans to put in place to attract investment to the East London Tech City area; [51580]
(5) how many companies have notified his Department of a commitment to locate in the East London Tech City; [51607]
(6) what estimate he has made of the level of investment committed to businesses in the East London Tech City area subsequent to the announcement of the East London Tech City initiative. [51608]
Mr Prisk: The Shoreditch area of east London already hosts 200 high-tech companies. The initiative announced by the Prime Minister on 4 November 2010 is aimed at promoting the development of Tech City further as a world-leading tech cluster and, as a result, so far over a dozen leading companies and universities have committed to investing in Tech City.
I have made no recent assessment of the jobs attributable to this initiative, and the Department is not offering any financial incentives specific to Tech City. However, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) has established the Tech City Investment Organisation (TCIO) to co-ordinate its efforts to promote east London's Tech City as a location for high-tech investments.
This will include engaging further with the above mentioned companies to turn their commitment into tangible investments, and engaging with a second wave of companies to do the same; putting together propositions for the best non-UK venture capital firms and business angels to encourage them to focus on deals in the UK and to expand their operations in the UK; and identifying experienced entrepreneurs and business people to take up roles as mentors or non-executive directors to help the development of early stage companies and beyond.
The TCIO is made up of four experienced entrepreneurs, four UKTI business specialists and four other UKTI officials. Project meetings are convened at No 10 on a weekly basis to review progress against TCIO's delivery plan.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding has been allocated to the Technology Strategy Board for each of the next three years. [51268]
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Mr Willetts: The Technology Strategy Board's budget for 2011/12 is £317 million, which includes funding for Technology and Innovation Centres and to deliver a national grant for research and development (R and D) scheme. We cannot be specific on future year allocations, but it will be of the order of £300 million pa resulting in support worth over £1 billion in business-led R and D over the spending review period.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on the sum that his Department plans to contribute to the new all-age careers service. [52030]
Mr Hayes: As Minister with responsibilities for careers services in both the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Department for Education I have had regular discussions about the new careers service with my ministerial colleagues in both Departments. I hope to be able to confirm the level of funding for the careers service soon.
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance his Department has issued to academies on their admissions policy. [51747]
Mr Gibb: Each Academy has a contract with the Secretary of State that sets out its admissions duties. Academies are required to have an admissions policy and arrangements which comply with admissions law, the School Admissions Code and the Admission Appeals Code.
When a new academy is established, officials will work with it in order to ensure its admission arrangements comply with the Code. Other than this, the guidance which the Department issues to academies is the same as that issued to maintained schools: the School Admissions Code and the Admissions Appeal Code.
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the commissioning of services under the Better Communication Action Plan will include services for children requiring communication aids; and if he will make a statement. [51313]
Sarah Teather:
The Department of Health recently published commissioning tools that were produced as part of the Better Communication Action Plan. In addition, the recently published ‘Green Paper, Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability—A consultation’, includes proposals to bring commissioning of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which enables some children to communicate, within the scope of NHS commissioning. Subject to parliamentary approval, the commissioning of highly specialised services, including AAC, will become
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a core responsibility of the NHS Commissioning Board. In the meantime, we will be supporting a new round of grants to organisations in this field in 2011-12.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many disabled children were living in a residential school or care home on the most recent date for which figures are available. [51723]
Tim Loughton: The number of looked after children who were recorded as being in need of services due to their disability and were living in a residential school or care home on the most recent date for which figures are available is shown in the following table.
| Children looked after at 31 March owing to disability (1,2,3) ; year ending 31 March 2010, coverage: England | |
|
|
Number |
|
All children looked after at 31 March owing to disability(3) |
|
| (1) Numbers above 1,000 have been rounded to the nearest 100, otherwise to the nearest 10. (2) Figures exclude children looked after under an agreed series of short term placements. (3) Looked after children are only known to be disabled if this is reported as their primary reason for being looked after. Some children may have come into care for another reason, but also have a disability. (4) Care homes comprise of the following: Secure Units, Homes and hostels subject to Children’s Homes regulations, Residential care homes and NHS Trusts providing medical/nursing care. (5) Other placements where children with a disability were accommodated, include: Foster placements, Placed with parents, Placed for adoption, Living independently, Homes and hostels not subject to Children’s Homes regulations, Family centre or mother and baby unit, Young offenders institution or prison and Other placements (unspecified). Source: SSDA 903 | |
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many ring-fenced grants provided by his Department were available for Brighton and Hove city council to claim in (a) 2007-08, (b) 2008-09, (c) 2009-10 and (d) 2010-11; how much was available in such grants; how many such grants were made; and how much was awarded in such grants. [51843]
Mr Gibb: Tables giving details of the ring-fenced revenue grants allocated by the Department to Brighton and Hove city council for each year since 2007-08 are provided in the following tables. The tables include the type of grant and the amount awarded to the council in each year.
There were 39 ring-fenced revenue grants available to Brighton and Hove council in 2007-08, 33 in 2008-09; 36 in 2009-10; and 29 in 2010-11.
| Ring-fenced grants to Brighton and Hove council—2007-08 | |
| Revenue Grant | Allocations (£) |
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| Ring-fenced grants to Brighton and Hove council—2008-09 | |
| Revenue Grant | Allocations {£) |
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| Ring-fenced grants to Brighton and Hove council—2009-10 | |
| Revenue Grant | Allocations (£) |
|
Early Years: Extending and increasing flexibility of free entitlement for 3-4 year olds |
|
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| Ring-fenced grants to Brighton and Hove council—2010-11 | |
| Revenue Grant | Allocations (£) |
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Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which schools in the City of Leicester have received or will receive funding under the Building Schools for the Future programme; and what the level of funding is in each case. [42176]
Mr Gibb: The following table sets out the schools in the City of Leicester that have received funding under the Building Schools for the Future programme, and the level of funding for each school:
| £ | ||
| School | Conventional funding including for ICT | PFI credits |
In his announcement about schools capital on 5 July 2011, Official Report, columns 47-50, the Secretary of State confirmed that he would “continue to look at the scope of savings in all” BSF projects that are continuing. Partnerships for Schools has been following up this commitment, working closely with local authorities on a case-by-case basis to identify efficiencies.
All of the following schools will go through final allocation, subject to approval of a final business case:
The City of Leicester College
Crown Hills Community College
New City Centre School
Rushey Mead School
Sir Jonathan North Community College'
The Lancaster School
Moat Community College
Babington Community Technology College
English Martyrs Catholic School
Hamilton Community College
St Paul’s Catholic School
New College Leicester
Fullhurst phase 2
Ash Field School
Ellesmere College
Keyham Lodge School
Millgate School
Nether Hall School
West Gate School
The Children’s Hospital School
Soar Valley Vocational Centre
Millgate Lodge Specialist Learning Centre
The Newry Specialist Learning Centre
Carisbrooke Specialist Learning Centre
Coleman Specialist Learning Centre
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Mr Burley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether his Department has targets for the performance of local authorities in relation to the handling of children who are taken into care. [51764]
Tim Loughton: The Department does not set targets in relation to children in care. Local authorities must operate within the framework of legislation and statutory guidance. Local authorities cannot remove children from their parents' care (unless this is with the parents' consent) without first referring the matter to a court.
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many care applications were made in England and Wales (a) in each month of (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010 and (b) January and February 2011. [51774]
Mr Djanogly: I have been asked to reply.
The following table shows the number of children made subject to a care application, in all tiers of court in England and Wales, for each month in 2009 and 2010.
|
|
Number of care applications |
| Notes: 1. Figures relate to the number of children subject to each application. 2. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. Source: HMCS FamilyMan system and summary returns. | |
Comparisons between single months should be made with caution as the monthly figures are subject to more volatility than those covering longer time periods. Statistics on public law applications for England and Wales are published on a quarterly basis by the Ministry of Justice in the National Statistics publication “Court Statistics Quarterly”. Statistics for Q1 2011 are due to be published in the next edition on 30 June 2011, and will be available from the Ministry of Justice website at:
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http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/statistics-and-data/courts-and-sentencing/judicial-quarterly.htm
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children's deaths were recorded in an Ofsted significant incident report as resulting from suspected abuse and neglect in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [50750]
Tim Loughton: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me, as Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector, for response.
I refer you to my response dated 7 March 2011 to Parliamentary Question 044778:
“To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children’s deaths were recorded in an Ofsted significant incident report as resulting from suspected (a) abuse and (b) neglect in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010.”
In my response I explained that Ofsted does not hold ‘significant incident reports’. However, Ofsted receives serious incident notifications from local authorities.
Data on the number of children’s deaths owing to ‘abuse’ and ‘neglect’ in either serious incident notifications or serious childcare incident briefings for the period requested are not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
I provide more detail here to assist you. Serious incident notifications are made immediately after a serious incident, when it is not possible in the majority of cases to determine the exact cause of death or the possible contributory factors to the death. Such determination takes place at a later stage, as the result of post mortem or inquest processes. It would therefore be inappropriate for Ofsted staff to be asked to make judgements on these important issues in the light of information provided within the initial serious incident notifications.
For these reasons, Ofsted does not detail ‘cause of death’ on our database. In order to ascertain individual information about each serious incident, Ofsted staff would be required to investigate each serious incident notification by reading the initial information and forming a view based only on this information. Local authorities are not obliged to update the initial information to Ofsted. Any judgement about whether a death may have been as the result of abuse and/or neglect would therefore require too great a level of subjective judgement on the part of our staff, who are dependent on the depth of information known to, and submitted by, each local authority. Such a manual interrogation of any information held would also require a level of staff time which would, as stated above, incur disproportionate cost.
A copy of this reply has been sent to Tim Loughton MP, Minister for Children and Families, and will be placed in the library of both Houses.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what discussions he has had with Nottinghamshire County Council in 2011 on the adequacy of its children’s services department in 2011; [51246]
(2) how many complaints his Department has received about children’s services in Nottinghamshire in each of the last three years. [51208]
Tim Loughton:
I issued an Improvement Notice to Nottinghamshire county council following Ofsted’s inspection of their Safeguarding and Looked After
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Children’s Services in March 2010, which found their services to be “inadequate”.
The Improvement Notice sets out the improvements the Council, with its partners, is required to make, and requires that the Council establish an independently chaired Improvement Board, to monitor progress and provide robust challenge. The chair of the Improvement Board provides regular reports to me on progress, and a representative from the Department sits on the Board.
An unannounced inspection of Contact, Referral and Assessment services in Nottinghamshire council took place in February 2011. I subsequently wrote to the leader of the council to acknowledge the findings of the inspection report and the improvement Ofsted found.
The current Improvement Notice stipulates there will be a formal review of progress in July 2011, at which point I will take a view as to what action, if any, is necessary to secure further improvement. I will of course take into account any representations about children’s services in Nottinghamshire and any complaints I have received by that point.
The specific information the hon. Member requests about complaints is not available in the format required and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he plans to announce his decision on capital funding for the Colchester Academy; and if he will make a statement. [22831]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 9 November 2010]:The Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) wrote to the hon. Member on 20 December 2010 to inform him of the capital allocation for the Colchester Academy.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51529]
Tim Loughton: Since May 2010, the Education Family (the Department for Education (DfE) and its Arms Length Bodies (ALB), has reduced by over 1,000 people as a result of the recruitment freeze and the ALB reform programme. The total number of people that have left the Department and its Arms Length Bodies is set out in the table below:
| Name | Staff Numbers May 2010 | Staff Numbers March 2011 |
|
British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTA) |
||
|
Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) |
||
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|
Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) |
||
|
Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) |
||
Further detail on reduction targets for the next two years is still to be worked out, but the Department and its ALBs expect to make further reductions during the next two financial years as some ALBs close and Agencies open. The Department is also anticipating year on year headcount reductions during the rest of the spending review period in order to meet its target to reduce administrative spend by 33%.
The Department hopes the majority of these reductions will be made through natural wastage, but given the timescales for ALB reform, some reductions may have to be made through targeted voluntary early releases (which will be in line with the Civil Service Compensation Scheme).
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51417]
Tim Loughton: 1,037 officials are currently provided with mobile communication devices within the Department for Education to meet their business requirements. During the previous financial year, April 2010 to March 2011, the Department spent £25,363 on the procurement of mobile telephones and £314,708.32 on associated rental, usage and data services (all costs exclude VAT).
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the staff vacancy rate in his Department was in 2010-11; and what vacancy rate has been assumed in his Department's budget for 2011-12. [51391]
Tim Loughton: In 2010-11, the Department had a monthly vacancy rate of less than 1% of its average headcount of 2,588 and an annual turnover rate of 12.44%. The vast majority of its vacancies were filled internally, or by the redeployment of staff made surplus as a result of closing the Government Office Network.
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The Department has not made any assumptions about either its vacancy or its turnover rate for 2011-12 but anticipate it will be broadly similar to 2010-11. The Department will continue to focus on the recruitment and redeployment challenges presented by our work to reduce the size of the Education Family Workforce (the Department and its arm’s length bodies) and the creation of its new agencies.
Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what percentage change he proposes to the Early Intervention Grant allocation for the London Borough of Newham in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [44966]
Sarah Teather: The Early Intervention Grant (EIG) is a new un-ring-fenced and un-hypothecated funding stream to enable local authorities to act more strategically and target investment early, where it will have greatest impact. In challenging times the Government are freeing local authorities to focus on essential frontline services, and to invest in early intervention and prevention to produce long-term savings and better results for children, young people and families.
The London borough of Newham's final EIG allocation for 2011-12 is £22,503,392 which represents a cash reduction of 12.5% based upon the 2010-11 allocation of the predecessor grants. The indicative EIG allocation for 2012-13 is £22,911,985 which represents a 1.8% cash increase on the 2011-12 EIG allocation.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2011, Official Report, column 47W, on education maintenance allowance, what steps he plans to take to (a) monitor the effect of the replacement of education maintenance allowance with a targeted support payment and (b) evaluate any difference in effect between the two schemes. [51628]
Mr Gibb: Currently schools, colleges and training providers with an allocation of discretionary learner support funds are required to provide management information to the Young People's Learning Agency. We expect that this arrangement will continue for the 16-19 Bursary Fund, allowing us to monitor its introduction. In addition we are considering how best to evaluate the impact of the new arrangements.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the proportion of students in receipt of education maintenance allowance who will receive funding under the new bursary and discretionary payment system. [51082]
Mr Gibb:
Around 315,000 young people currently in receipt of education maintenance allowance (EMA) will receive guaranteed support in 2011/12 as a result of the measures we announced on 28 March 2011. This represents around 90% of those currently in receipt of EMA who would have been expected to continue in education or training in 2011/12. Young people who are not covered by the transitional arrangements will be
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able to apply for support from their school, college or training provider through the discretionary element of the 16-19 Bursary Fund.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether the funding allocated to (a) the continuation of education maintenance allowance for some students and (b) discretionary learner support is to be transferred from any other project or scheme in his Department. [51084]
Mr Gibb: We have always had money set aside within the Department for Education budget for 16-19 financial support. As part of the budget discussions we agreed a call on Treasury reserves for a minority of the funding to help with the new 16-19 Bursary Fund.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding he has allocated to the continuation of funding for the education maintenance allowance for those who commenced study in academic year 2010-11; and from which budget this funding was allocated. [51085]
Mr Gibb: We expect that the cost of making weekly payments of £20 to those young people who started post-16 study in 2010/11 and are currently in receipt of the maximum weekly EMA payment will be £113 million in 2011/12. We have always had money set aside within the Department for Education budget for 16-19 financial support. As part of the budget discussions we agreed a call on Treasury reserves for a minority of the funding to help with the new 16-19 Bursary Fund.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many students (a) in England, (b) in the West Midlands, (c) in Dudley borough and (d) enrolled at Dudley college who started courses in the academic year 2010-11 received education maintenance allowance at a rate of (i) £30, (ii) £20 and (iii) less than £20 a week. [50801]
Mr Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, will write to the hon. Member for Dudley North with the information requested and a copy of his reply will be placed in the House Libraries.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether funding for discretionary learner support for 16 to 19 education will be allocated solely for the purposes of student support; and whether it may or will be used to support administration of the system. [51058]
Mr Gibb: The new 16-19 Bursary scheme will be less bureaucratic and better targeted than EMA. At least 95% of the fund will be used directly to support students. Schools, colleges and training providers will be allowed to use up to 5% of their allocation to meet the costs of administering the scheme.
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Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effects of reductions in funding on student support services in (a) further education colleges, (b) sixth forms and (c) schools. [51059]
Mr Gibb: One of our key priorities with 16-19 participation funding has been to support the most disadvantaged and less able young people as much as possible. We have been able to do this by increasing the amount given over to disadvantaged funding and additional learner support. By recycling some of the savings from the reduction to the entitlement we have been able to increase funding for the more disadvantaged and those needing additional support by £150 million. This, along with the additional funding we have also made available to support Foundation Learning, will ensure that funding is targeted where it is most needed.
On 28 March 2011 we announced a new £180 million 16-19 Bursary Fund, which will enable schools, colleges and training providers to target support towards those young people facing the greatest financial barriers to participation.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what cost-benefit analysis his Department has made of the merits of (a) a nationally administered and (b) a localised 16 to 19 student finance system. [51061]
Mr Gibb: The education maintenance allowance (EMA) was a nationally administered system of financial support for 16-19-year-olds. Evidence suggests that around 90% of young people receiving support would have participated anyway. The 16-19 Bursary Fund—a locally administered system—will focus resources more sharply on those who are facing the greatest financial barriers to participation, in order to achieve the same benefits at a lower cost to the taxpayer.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the cost to further education providers of administering a discretionary support fund for 16 to 19 learners. [51063]
Mr Gibb: Under arrangements for the new 16-19 Bursary Fund, schools, colleges and training providers will be able to use up to 5% of their allocation to meet the costs of administering the scheme.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether funding for discretionary learner support for 16-19 education will be ring-fenced. [51064]
Mr Gibb: Under current arrangements discretionary learner support funds are allocated as a discrete budget which can only be used for that purpose. We expect that to be the case for the new 16-19 Bursary Fund, which we announced on 28 March 2011. We are currently consulting on our proposals.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the statement of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 53, on post-16 education funding, how many pupils in year 11 are eligible for free school meals in England; and how much funding will be required in discretionary funds in order to ensure that each student who was eligible for free school meals in year 11 could receive up to £800 in discretionary learner support for 16-19 education. [51081]
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Mr Gibb: As at January 2010, there were 77,540 pupils in year 11 known to be eligible for free school meals in England. We expect there to be just over 74,500 young people in this ‘group’ starting post-16 courses for the first time in 2011/12. In total, we estimate that there will be just under 166,000 young people aged 16-19 in full-time education or training in 2011/12 who were eligible for free school meals in year 11.
If every young person who was eligible for free school meals in year 11 and has continued in full-time education or training post-16 were to receive a total of £800 in 2011/12 it would cost £132.8 million.
Once the cost of providing bursaries of £1,200 to the most vulnerable groups is taken into account, £165 million will be available to schools, colleges and training providers to award discretionary bursaries. This would be sufficient to provide a bursary of £800 to 15% of 16 to 19-year-olds in full-time education or training, more than covering those who were eligible for free school meals in year 11.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether students in receipt of a 16-19 education bursary will be required to sign a learner agreement. [51340]
Mr Gibb: We expect that schools and colleges will make receipt of a bursary conditional on a student meeting expected standards, for example, of attendance, behaviour or standard of work. Schools and colleges have told us that the ability to set conditions is important for promoting a positive attitude to education.
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department holds in reserve; and for what purpose such funding is held. [51342]
Tim Loughton: At the beginning of financial year 2010-11 the department held £207 million of reserve funding which has been fully drawn down in the financial year.
The Department follows HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting Guidance on allocating reserve funding which states:
“1.48 Departments are encouraged not to allocate their departmental expenditure limits (DEL) fully against their programmes at the start of a financial year but to hold some provision back to deal with unforeseen pressures that emerge subsequently, including their known contingent liabilities. This departmental unallocated provision (DUP) is published in Main Estimates and Supplementary Budgetary Information.”
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Scunthorpe (Nic Dakin) of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 59, on post-16 education funding, what estimate he has made of the number of further education colleges that have a canteen or catering facilities on site; and how many further education facilities he has visited since his appointment. [51349]
Mr Gibb: Information on the number of further education colleges that do not have kitchens or cafeterias on site is not held by the Department for Education or the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (the sponsoring Department for further education colleges).
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Last month the Secretary of State for Education announced a new £180 million 16-19 Bursary Fund, which will enable schools, colleges and training providers to target support towards those young people facing the greatest financial barriers to participation. They can decide whether to provide subsidised meals in college or give young people a bursary that allows them to pay for food outside of college.
Since his appointment, the Secretary of State for Education has visited two further education colleges: Westminster Kingsway college on 3 March this year; and Goole college, which forms part of the Hull college group of colleges, on 1 April this year.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what financial support his Department provided to school cadet forces in the (a) independent and (b) state sector in 2010-11; and what financial support he plans to allocate for 2011-12. [51364]
Mr Gibb: In 2010-11 £60,000 was paid to schools in the state sector by the Department to support a pilot project enabling young people in the state sector to access cadet provision through partnerships between independent and maintained schools. No financial support was provided to participating independent schools.
The pilot project has now ended and the Department for Education has no plans to provide funding in 2011-12. Future funding for cadet forces is a matter for the Ministry of Defence.
On 28 February 2011 the Secretary of State for Education announced that the Department for Education will provide £1.5 million for the charity SkillForce to train former members of the armed forces to become mentors for young people in schools across England.
Angela Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to his Statement of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 51, on post-16 education funding, what plans he has to allow further education and sixth form colleges to access information on students enrolling in September 2011 who were in receipt of free meals whilst in compulsory schooling; and if he will make a statement. [51505]
Mr Gibb: Further education and sixth form colleges will be able to exercise their discretion to award 16-19 bursaries to young people—including young people who were in receipt of free school meals in year 11—in ways that best fit local needs and circumstances. We have no plans currently to establish a national system to make information on eligibility for free school meals available to further education and sixth form colleges. We are consulting on the details of the new arrangements and will work with the Association of Colleges and the Sixth Form Colleges Forum to consider how, at a local level, colleges could work with schools and local authorities to identify those students who might benefit from a bursary.
Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what consultation he has undertaken on his decision not to include religious education as a humanities subject in the English Baccalaureate. [51047]
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Mr Gibb: Since announcing in December 2010 the subjects that would be reported as counting towards the English Baccalaureate in the 2010 performance tables, the Department has received a wide range of correspondence on the decision not to include religious studies GCSE. Ministers and departmental officials have held a number of meetings with interested parties.
The Government are currently considering the content of the English Baccalaureate for the purposes of the 2011 performance tables. We intend to publish information on all measures to be included in the 2011 performance tables in our annual statement of intent, which will be published at:
www.education.gov.uk/performancetables
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average caseload of family court practitioners instructed by his Department was on the most recent date for which figures are available; and what estimate he has made of the likely average caseload on 31 March 2012. [51775]
Tim Loughton: The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (CAFCASS) is responsible for the management of family court practitioners and their caseloads. I have asked Anthony Douglas, CAFCASS's chief executive, to write to the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd with the information requested. A copy of Mr. Douglas's letter will be placed in the House Libraries.
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has any plans to introduce separate representation for children in care or family proceedings. [51777]
Tim Loughton: In care proceedings, children are represented both through a court appointed CAFCASS guardian, who represents the child's wishes and feelings to the court and provides independent social work advice to the court on the child's best interests, and by a solicitor appointed to represent the child's legal interests.
In private law cases, including contact and residence disputes, there is no automatic right to legal representation but, in that minority of cases where a court deems it appropriate to make a child party to the proceedings, there is provision for a child to be represented by a CAFCASS guardian.
The Government will consider changes needed across the whole of the family justice system once the Family Justice Review panel has issued its final report in the autumn. The panel's interim report is currently subject to consultation.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the free school meals pilots operating in (a) the London borough of Newham, (b) County Durham and (c) Wolverhampton; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each interim report produced on the pilots for his Department. [51283]
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Mr Gibb: The Department makes regular assessments of the effectiveness of the free school meals pilots. The final evaluation report is due to be received by the Department on 31 March 2012. We shall publish the report within 12 weeks of its receipt. The aim of the evaluation is to measure the impact of the free school meals pilots in the London borough of Newham, County Durham and Wolverhampton.
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he has made an estimate of the number of (a) sixth form colleges and (b) further education colleges which do not have (i) kitchens and (ii) cafeterias. [51644]
Mr Gibb: Information on the number of sixth form colleges and further education colleges that do not have kitchens or cafeterias on site is not held by the Department for Education (the sponsoring department for sixth form colleges) or the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (the sponsoring department for further education colleges).
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many further education college and sixth form cafeterias he has visited in 2011; [51316]
(2) which (a) sixth forms and (b) further education colleges he has visited in 2011. [51645]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 5 April 2011]: The Secretary of State for Education has visited seven school sixth forms and two further education colleges in 2011. The Department does not hold any record as to whether he visited their cafeterias. The institutions visited are as follows:
Haberdashers Knights Aske's Academy
Twyford CoE High School
King Solomon Academy
Chellaston Academy
Altrincham Girls Grammar School
Goole High School
Pimlico Academy
Westminster Kingsway College
Goole College
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many young people in further education received education maintenance allowance at the higher level in (a) Gateshead, (b) the North East and (c) England in each year from 2006 to 2010. [51588]
Mr Gibb: This is a matter for the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) who operate the education maintenance allowance for the Department for Education and manage the Capita contract. Peter Lauener, the YPLA's chief executive, has written to the hon. Member for Gateshead with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Libraries.
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I am writing in response to your Parliamentary Question that asked;
“How many young people in further education received education maintenance allowance at the higher level in (a) Gateshead, (b) the North East and (c) England in each year from 2006 to 2010.”
EMA take-up is defined as young people who have received one or more EMA payments in the academic year.
The numbers of young people who have received Education Maintenance Allowance at the higher level of £30 a week are shown in the table below.
|
|
2006/07 | 2007/08 | 2008/09 | 2009/10 |
It is important to note that the above data may include duplicates as a result of learners changing their learning provider in-year.
EMA take-up data showing the number of young people who have received one or more EMA payments during 2004/05, 2005/06, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10 are available on the YPLA website at the following address:
http://ema.ypla.gov.uk/resources/research/takeup/
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the statement of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 59, on post-16 education funding, whether (a) sixth form colleges and (b) further education colleges are eligible to receive funds from the sum for capital support announced in the 2011 Budget. [52395]
Mr Gibb: Through the Budget, the Chancellor has released £125 million of additional capital spending for England. Most of this is intended to ensure that we have a new generation of University Technical Colleges, which are new 14-19 institutions. Some of it will also support new Technical Academies, where the Department welcomes proposals for any age range, including 16-19. Colleges and other educational institutions may come forward with UTC or Technical Academy proposals. Details of how to apply can be found on the Department's website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/leadership/typesofschools/technical/a0076307/technical-academies-and-university-technical-colleges
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the number of staff employed in student support in (a) further education colleges, (b) sixth form colleges and (c) schools in each of the last five years. [51344]
Mr Gibb: The following tables provide the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants and support staff employed in further education colleges (FE), sixth form colleges and publicly funded schools in England in each year from 2004-05 to 2008-09 (FE and sixth form colleges) and 2006 to 2010 (publicly funded schools).
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| Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants and support staff in service in further education/sixth form colleges (1) and publicly funded schools. Years: FE and sixth form colleges (2004-05 to 2008-09) and publicly funded schools (January 2006 to 2010), coverage: England | |||
| Further education and 6 (th) form colleges | |||
|
|
Support staff | Other support staff (2) | Total support staff |
| Source: Staff Individualised Record (SIR) survey conducted by Lifelong Learning UK. | |||
| Publicly funded schools (3) | |||
|
|
Teaching assistants (4) | Support staff (5) | Total support staff |
| (1) Numbers based on full-time equivalent staff calculated on the number of contracts issued. (2) Includes senior and other managers, admin/clerical staff, assessors and verifiers, technical and service staff. (3) Publicly funded schools include local authority maintained schools, academies and city technology colleges. (4) Includes higher level teaching assistants, nursery nurses, nursery assistants, literacy and numeracy support staff and any other teaching staff regularly employed to support teachers in the classroom, special needs support staff and minority ethnic pupil support staff. (5) Includes secretaries, bursars, other admin/clerical staff, technicians (laboratory assistants, design technology assistants, home economics and craft technicians and IT technicians), matrons, nurses, medical staff, child care staff and other education support staff (librarians, welfare assistants and learning mentors). Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10. Source: School Census | |||
Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps his Department plans to take to monitor participation in post-16 education by 16 to 19-year-olds in future academic years; and what plans he has to publish the results of such monitoring. [51643]
Mr Gibb: Data on participation in education post-16 currently are principally monitored and published through the Department for Education (DfE) Statistical First Release (SFR) entitled “Participation in Education, Training and Employment by 16-18 Year Olds in England”. This is an annual publication, typically released in the third or fourth week in June.
The SFR provides detailed statistics for 16, 17 and 18-year-olds both separately and aggregated to 16-18 on whether they are participating in education, and if so at what type of institution, what level and type of course or programme, and type of attendance (full time or part time). Additionally, for young people who are in employment, statistics are given for whether they are also participating in education and training, either independently or funded by their employer. These statistics are calculated on an academic age basis; this means that the SFR refers to three distinct cohorts of young people
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in their first, second and third year post compulsory schooling. For selected statistics a time series of participation in education and/or employment is available from 1985, updated each year, with the most recently published figures relating to the end of 2009.
Further, statistical tables are published in addition to the main SFR that disaggregate participation in education (but not employment) into the local authority of residence of the young person. These are available for 16 and 17-year-olds in a time series extending back to 1994. Most recently figures were published for end 2009, with further updates planned annually every second or third week in March.
Separately, the Department releases figures for the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) at local authority level. The data are based on operational data currently collected by local authorities. The result of this data collection is the Client Caseload Information System (CCIS), which is used by local authorities to keep track of the participation of individual young people in their area. CCIS enables local authorities to assess whether the young person is currently in education, training or employment, and whether an offer of education and training has been made, or for young people who are NEET whether an appropriate intervention has been made.
The Department is committed to continue publishing participation data in the forms described above. The next release of the SFR showing the participation of 16-18-year-olds at the end of 2010 is planned for June 2011, with a disaggregation into local authority areas for 16 and 17-year-olds to follow in March 2012. Similarly, CCIS will continue to be the means by which local authorities collect and record offers of education and training for young people.
Elizabeth Truss: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many and what proportion of GCE A-level students were entered for GCE A-level (a) chemistry, (b) geography, (c) French, (d) German and (e) Spanish in (i) comprehensive schools, (ii) selective schools, (iii) independent schools and (iv) sixth form colleges (A) nationally and (B) in each local education authority in the most recent period for which figures are available.[51114]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 5 April 2011]:The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries.
Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many secondary school students sat GCSE examinations in (a) vocational subjects and (b) academic subjects in (i) 2009 and (ii) 2010. [50486]
Mr Gibb: The information shown in the table below covers all pupils at the end of key stage 4 in all secondary schools.
| Number of pupils in secondary schools who sat GCSE examinations in: | |||
|
|
Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 | Vocational qualifications | Academic qualifications |
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| Source: School and College Performance tables. | |||
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children (a) in receipt of free school meals, (b) with a statement of special educational need, (c) from a Black and ethnic minority community and (d) looked after by a local authority received a place in a grammar school in each of the last five years. [52256]
Mr Gibb: The Department does not collect information on the placement of pupils. Pupils in national curriculum year 7 have been used in this answer, except for looked after children where children aged 11 have been used.
Information on the characteristics of these pupils is shown in the tables.
| State-funded secondary schools (1, 2) and grammar schools: characteristics of national curriculum year 7 pupils, as at January each year, 2006 to 2010 , England | ||||||
| National curriculum year group 7 | ||||||
| All pupils (3) | Pupils known to be eligible for and claiming free school meals (4) | |||||
|
|
Number of pupils attending state-funded secondary schools (1, 2) | Of which: number of pupils attending grammar schools | % of pupils attending grammar schools (6) | Number of pupils attending state-funded secondary schools (1, 2) | Of which: number of pupils attending grammar schools | % of pupils attending grammar schools (6) |
| National curriculum year group 7 | ||||||
| Pupils with a statement of SEN (3) | Pupils of Black ethnicity (3, 5) | |||||
|
|
Number of pupils attending state-funded secondary schools (1, 2) | Of which: number of pupils attending grammar schools | % of pupils attending grammar schools (6) | Number of pupils attending state-funded secondary schools (1, 2) | Of which: number of pupils attending grammar schools | % of pupils attending grammar schools (6) |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies. (3) Excludes dual registrations. (4) Includes sole and dual (main) registrations. (5) Black ethnicity comprises Black African, Black Caribbean and Any Other Black background. (6 )Number of pupils attending grammar schools expressed as a percentage of pupils attending state-funded secondary schools. Source: School Census and EduBase | ||||||
26 Apr 2011 : Column 290W
| Children who have been looked after continuously for at least 12 months at 31 March, aged 11 (1, 2, 3 ) , 2006 to 2010, England | |||
| Children aged 11 (3) | |||
|
|
Number of children looked after continuously for 12 months (4) | Number of children looked after continuously for 12 months attending grammar schools (2) | % of children looked after continuously for 12 months attending grammar schools (5) |
| (1) Children looked after continuously for 12 months at 31 March excluding those children in respite care. (2) Children looked after continuously for 12 months at 31 March, who were matched to their School Census record via the National Pupil Database. (3) Age at 31 August each year, i.e. at the start of the school year. (4) All children who have been looked after continuously for 12 months at 31 March each year. (5) Children looked after continuously for 12 months at 31 March attending grammar schools expressed as a percentage of all children looked after continuously for 12 months at 31 March. Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 100 if they exceed 1,000 and to the nearest 10 otherwise. Source: CLA-NPD matched data and EduBase | |||
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) Greater Manchester Challenge, (b) London Challenge and (c) Black Country Challenge; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each (i) report and (ii) assessment prepared for his Department on the effectiveness of these projects. [51284]
Mr Gibb: Last year, the Secretary of State approved an evaluation of the City Challenge programme, to enable its effectiveness to be assessed. This will report towards the end of the 2011 and copies will be placed in the House Libraries. Our initial view, however, is that, while the programme has been effective in helping to raise school standards it was expensive and adopted an approach that was too centralised.
The recent Schools White Paper: ‘The Importance of Teaching’ set out our view that the primary responsibility for school improvement should rest with schools. The wider system should be designed so that our best schools and leaders can take on greater responsibility, leading improvement work across the system. We are putting the building blocks of a self improving school system in place, increasing the numbers of Teaching Schools and National and Local Leaders of Education and intervening only where schools are under-performing.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many respondents there were to his Department's consultation on the phonics test; and how many respondents were (a) in favour and (b) against the proposals. [52150]
Mr Gibb: There were 1,071 responses to the public consultation on the Year 1 phonics screening check.
We did not ask whether respondents were in favour of, or against, the proposals as a whole. Instead, we asked more detailed questions about the different elements
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of the proposed phonics check. The statistics on the responses to the consultation questions have been published as part of the Government's response to the consultation, which is available at the following link:
http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/teachingandlearning/pedagogy/teachingstyles/phonics/a0075951/year1phonicsresponse
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the In-Harmony music pilots in (a) Liverpool, (b) London and (c) Norwich; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each (i) report and (ii) assessment prepared for his Department on the effectiveness of these pilots. [51282]
Mr Gibb: The final evaluation reports for the three In-Harmony projects in Liverpool, London and Norwich will be published later this year and a copy will be placed in the House Libraries. Ofsted has visited the Liverpool In-Harmony pilot and found that participation has been beneficial for the pupils' personal and social development, as well as for their general educational attainment. The Henley Review of Music Education published in February 2011 commented that the music pilots have delivered life-changing experiences for the children involved which others may wish to learn from.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much funding his Department has allocated in respect of music education in each year for which figures are available; and how much funding it expects to allocate in each of the next five years. [52390]
Mr Gibb: The following table shows the standards fund allocations for music education in England from 2000-11 and the funding allocation for music education in 2011-12. We shall be setting out our vision for music education later this year, in a National Plan for Music Education. The plan will set out future funding allocations and a new funding mechanism from 2012-13.
|
|
£ |
| (1) Music Education Grant | |
Bill Esterson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what arrangements his Department expects schools to make for children who are unable
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to undertake the 11-plus examination due to illness; [52170]
(2) what arrangements his Department expects schools to make for children whose education has been previously disrupted when conducting 11-plus examinations; [52171]
(3) what research his Department (a) has undertaken, (b) plans to undertake and (c) has evaluated on the emotional, psychological and social effects on children of their performance in the 11-plus examination. [52172]
Mr Gibb: The 11 plus, along with other tests to determine whether a child should be offered a place at a selective school, is not a statutory assessment. It is for the admission authorities of those remaining schools that are able to select, to set and administer any tests for entry, including any arrangements that they may wish to put in place for children who are unable to undertake tests due to illness or other disruption.
The Department has not conducted any research on the emotional, psychological and social effects on children who take the 11-plus examination. We have no plans for any research or evaluation.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what information his Department holds on the salary of the head teacher of Outwood Grange School. [50504]
Mr Gibb: Information on teachers' salaries is published as part of the results of the School Workforce Census (SWF) which have been published in a Statistical First Release and is available on the Department's website:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000997/SFR62011.pdf
All schools, including academies, were required to supply data on many factors, including staff pay. Schools supply data at individual staff member level, and actual salary details for all teachers in maintained schools and academies are collected but are only published in £5,000 and £10,000 salary bands at national level.
The academy trust of Outwood Grange School like all academy trusts is required to publish annual accounts in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. In addition to this, the Charity Commission has published a Statement of Recommended Practice which clarifies how charities should prepare their accounts in order to reflect these legal requirements. This states that charities which are subject to a statutory audit should include a note in their accounts disclosing the number of employees whose pay was £60,000 or above, presented in £10,000 bandings. The Department expects academy trusts, as charitable companies, to comply with this.
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many pupils were excluded permanently from schools in (a) Hertfordshire and (b) St Albans constituency in each of the last five years. [52122]
Mr Gibb: The requested information is shown in the table.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 293W
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| Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools (1, 2, 3) :Number of permanent exclusions (4) 2004/05 - 2008/09 Hertfordshire local authority and St Albans parliamentary constituency | ||||||
| Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools (1, 2, 3) | ||||||
| 2004/05 | 2005/06 | 2006/07 | ||||
|
|
Number of permanent exclusions | Percentage of school population (5) | Number of permanent exclusions | Percentage of school population (5) | Number of permanent exclusions | Percentage of school population (5) |
| Maintained primary, state-funded secondary and special schools (1, 2, 3) | ||||
| 2007/08 | 2008/09 | |||
|
|
Number of permanent exclusions | Percentage of school population (5) | Number of permanent exclusions | Percentage of school population (5) |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes city technology colleges and academies (including all-through academies). (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Figures for the local authority are as confirmed by local authorities as part of the data checking exercise, figures for the constituency are as provided by schools. (5) The number of permanent exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of pupils (excluding dually registered pupils). Note: Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10, Source: School Census | ||||
Mr Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) secondary and (b) primary schools are grant maintained; and which such schools had the (i) highest and (ii) lowest number of pupils in the latest period for which figures are available. [51194]
Mr Gibb: Grant maintained schools were abolished under the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. The last School Census to collect information on grant maintained schools was January 1999. The requested information as at January 1999 is shown in the table.
| Grant maintained primary and secondary schools (1, 2) : Number of schools and the highest and lowest number of pupils (3) . As at January 1999 . I n England | ||||
|
|
Number of schools | Of which: Number of grant maintained schools | Highest number of pupils | Lowest number of pupils |
| (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) From 1 September 1999, all previous categories of school, including grant-maintained, were replaced by four new categories, all maintained (or funded) by the local authority: Community, Foundation, Voluntary Aided and Voluntary Controlled. (3) Headcount of solely registered pupils. Source: School Census | ||||
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in each region he has visited since May 2010. [51620]
Tim Loughton: The Secretary of State for Education has visited 35 schools across England since May 2010; and the breakdown by region is as follows:
| Region | Number of schools visited |
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many local authorities have indicated to his Department their support for the abolition of admissions forums. [51672]
Mr Gibb: We are not proposing the abolition of admission forums. Clause 34 of the Education Bill removes the requirement on local authorities to set up a forum, leaving it to local decision making whether they should be retained. We already know of a number of areas where the decision has been taken by the local authority and their local partners to keep the forum in place.
Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to his contribution of 24 November 2010, Official Report, column 284, on the Schools White Paper, what progress he has made on revising the School Admissions Code. [51759]
Mr Gibb: We will shortly launch a national consultation to allow parents, schools and other stakeholders to consider revised School Admissions and Appeals Codes.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) what guidance his Department issues on the level of exposure to asbestos of (a) school staff and (b) school children below which (i) individuals exposed and (ii) parents of children exposed need not be informed; [51916]
(2) what guidance his Department issues to local authorities and schools on the level of exposure to asbestos that constitutes a significant risk to (a) school staff and (b) school children; [51917]
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(3) what guidance his Department issues on the minimum level of exposure to (a) amosite, (b) crocidolite and (c) chrysotile which poses a significant long-term risk to (i) school staff and (ii) school children; [51969]
(4) what his policy is on referring schools and local education authorities to the Health and Safety Executive guidance LAC 5/19 following a release of asbestos fibres in a school. [51970]
Mr Gibb: The Control of Asbestos Regulations and the Codes of Practice published by HSE do not differentiate between the risks at different levels of exposure to asbestos fibres. No exposure level is deemed to be safe. The Regulations and Codes of Practice require all reasonable steps to be taken to manage asbestos to prevent exposure to all types of asbestos fibres, and cover school buildings. Therefore no guidance is currently issued by the Department on the level of exposure to asbestos that constitutes a risk to school staff and children.
The Department has however asked the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Partnerships for Schools to produce a website to develop the awareness among key personnel of their responsibilities in relation to asbestos in schools. The intended users of the website are head teachers, governors, teachers, support staff; and those local authority officers identified as duty holders under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. The objectives of the website are to ensure that all these groups are aware of their responsibilities and of the risks if asbestos is not managed properly.
In the event of asbestos fibres being found, the school or local authority should refer to HSE guidance note Local Authority Circular 5/19 “The level of risk from occupational exposure to asbestos: guidance for HSE and LA staff when responding to enquiries”.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many contracts his Department has awarded to Challenge Leadership relating to school improvement. [50461]
Tim Loughton: The Department's central contract records show that the Department has not recorded a contract with Challenge Leadership relating to school improvement. A search of the Department's finance system shows that the Department did not make any payments to Challenge Leadership between November 2009 and March 2011.
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which (a) grants and (b) funding streams for schools are not included in the definition of core funding; and what their total value was in the financial year 2010-11. [35861]
Mr Gibb [holding answer 24 January 2011]: The following table shows the grants or funding streams for 2010-11 that have not been transferred into main school funding, through the Dedicated Schools Grant, in 2011-12.
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| Non-frontline schools grants/funding streams | |||
| £ million | |||
|
|
2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 |
| (1) Music Grant is paid to authorities via the Federation of Music Services (FMS) in 2011-12. (2) A single funding stream for Extended Rights and General Duty on Sustainable Travel (total £38 million) is available through the Local Service Support Grant in 2011-12, which is paid and administered by the Department for Communities and Local Government. | |||
Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children receiving free school meals in maintained schools in Milton Keynes council area achieved five GCSEs at grade A* to C in the latest period for which figures are available. [51757]
Mr Gibb: The latest available figures were published in table 5 of the Statistical First Release “GCSE and Equivalent Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England, 2009/10” at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000977/index.shtml
In 2009/10, at the end of Key Stage 4, 297 pupils in state-funded schools in Milton Keynes were eligible for free school meals. 56% of these pupils achieved five or more GCSEs or equivalents at grade A* to C.
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Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Mid Dorset and North Poole of 14 March 2011, Official Report, column 57W, on schools: transport, whether his Department's review of school transport will include transport provision for 16 to 19 year olds. [51662]
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2011, Official Report, column 57W, on schools: transport, whether the review of school transport will include transport provision for 16 to 19 year olds. [51721]
Mr Gibb: The main focus of the review will be to work with local authorities to identify and share best practice and how efficiency savings made by some local authorities can be replicated more widely. We intend to consider all aspects of school transport but will also examine what practice exists for post-16 provision.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many vulnerable children in Bassetlaw he estimates are not currently assigned a social worker. [51852]
Tim Loughton: The Government does not collect data on the numbers of vulnerable children assigned social workers. There is not a standard definition of vulnerable children and where those data are collected, that is done on an upper tier local authority area basis. The Department published statistics on 30 November 2010 on “Children In Need in England, including their characteristics and further information on children who were the subject of a child protection plan” for the period 2009-10. Those statistics can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000970/index.shtml
and show that in the year ending 31 March 2010 Nottinghamshire county council received 9,736 referrals of concern about a child's welfare. They completed 5,173 initial assessments to determine whether each of those children where children in need under the Children Act 1989, and 631 children became subject to a child protection plan during the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010. Government statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2010) sets out that, “The initial assessment should be led by a qualified and experienced social worker who is supervised by a highly experienced and qualified social work manager”. The full guidance can be found at:
http://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationdetail/page1/DCSF-00305-2010
Further details at district council level may be available from Nottinghamshire county council.
Mr Tom Clarke:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the Special Educational Needs Green Paper, ‘Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability’, what steps he plans to take to enable people with
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profound and multiple learning disabilities to participate in further education; and if he will make a statement. [51274]
Sarah Teather: The Green Paper, ‘Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability—A consultation’, includes proposals for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and support to participate in further education. We welcome the views of young people, colleges and others as we decide on the best way to do this. The consultation period runs until 30 June 2011 and we will publish our plans later this year when we have considered the responses received.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he is taking to increase the number of people with profound and multiple learning disabilities who participate in further education; and if he will make a statement. [51275]
Mr Gibb: The Green Paper ‘Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability’ includes proposals for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and support to participate in further education. We welcome the views of young people, colleges and others as we decide on the best way to do this. The consultation period runs until 30 June 2011 and we will publish our plans later this year when we have considered the responses received.
Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to provide incentives for specialist colleges to partner with non-specialist further education colleges to improve the quality and provision of education for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement. [51360]
Mr Gibb: As set out in the Green Paper ‘Support and aspiration: A new approach to special educational needs and disability’, we will consider how best to encourage partnership working between independent specialist colleges, special schools and non-specialist further education colleges. This will help spread knowledge, improve expertise, build capacity, and share delivery arrangements so that colleges and training providers can respond effectively to the needs of students, employers and communities.
We will listen to the views of young people, colleges and others as we decide on the best way to do this and question 19 of the Green Paper consultation invites responses to this issue. The consultation period runs until 30 June 2011 and we will publish our plans later this year when we have considered the responses received.
Laura Sandys: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will make it his policy to allocate funding for the establishment of free schools for children with special educational needs. [50933]
Mr Gibb:
We invited groups to develop proposals to establish Free Schools on 18 June 2010, including those wanting to establish special Free Schools catering for children with special educational needs. The recent Green Paper, “Support and aspiration: a new approach to
26 Apr 2011 : Column 299W
special educational needs and disability”, published on 9 March set out that the first special free schools will open in September 2012 catering for those with statements of special educational needs. Funding will be provided for such schools and, as every free school is different, the costs will vary between projects.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether he plans to bring forward proposals to change local authority duties relating to 16 to 19 transport under the Education Act 1996 following the introduction of his Department's bursary scheme for 16 to 19 year-olds in education. [51722]
Mr Gibb: The Government have no plans to amend local authorities' statutory duties relating to post-16 transport arrangements. The 16-19 Bursary Fund, which we announced on 28 March 2011, will give schools, colleges and training providers the flexibility to make payments to support students' transport costs. This does not replace the statutory duty that local authorities have to make sure that no young person in their area is prevented from attending education post 16 because of a lack of transport.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what estimate he has made of the number of newly qualified teachers in Merseyside without a permanent job at the end of their training in the latest period for which figures are available; and what his estimate is of the average length of time between teachers, being made redundant and their next permanent post in the latest period for which figures are available. [52508]
Mr Gibb: The information requested is not collected centrally. The data that most closely relate to the question are collected by the Training and Development Agency.
Training and Development Agency figures show, for 2008/09 (the latest available), that of the 1,070 teachers gaining Qualified Teacher Status through providers based in Merseyside, 75.2% were in a teaching post six months later. This compares with 80.9% for England.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teacher training places there were in Merseyside in the latest period for which figures are available. [52522]
Mr Gibb: There are two teacher training providers located in the Merseyside area. These are Liverpool Hope University and Liverpool John Moores University. There are also a number of providers who are located just outside, but which contribute to the employment of teachers in the area. The allocations of new entrant places for these providers in 2011/12 are given in the table.
| Allocations for 2011/12 | Secondary | Primary |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 300W
| Key: EBITT = Employment-based initial teacher training Source: Training and Development Agency for School | ||
Mr Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, columns 1052-3W, on vocational guidance, how many meetings have taken place between officials of his Department and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the implementation of the all-age careers service since November 2010; on which date each such meeting took place; and at what level each such meeting was conducted. [52440]
Mr Gibb: The Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills established a formal project board and advisory group to consider the implementation of the all-age careers service. Both are chaired jointly by the responsible deputy director from each Department. The project board met on 24 November 2010, 21 January 2011, 22 February 2011 and 25 March 2011. The advisory group met on 17 December 2010, 28 January 2011 and 10 March 2011.
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which voluntary and community sector grants will provide (a) revenue funding for the organisations involved and (b) funding for specific projects; and which projects have been funded in each category. [51676]
Sarah Teather: On 25 February 2011, the Department announced which voluntary organisations had been successful in their bids for funding from our Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) grant worth around £60 million each year in 2011-12 and 2012-13.
The VCS grant has been allocated according to activities offered under specific grant themes, these are:
1. Families and Relationship support
2. Early Years and Childcare
3. Special Educational Needs and Disability
4. Children in Care
5. Child Protection and Safeguarding
6. Young People.
In addition, ‘Strategic Partner’ grants have been established to ensure Government get advice about issues affecting VCS organisations and to help capacity building of the sector, in particular smaller organisations, through transition. The themes for strategic partner grants are:
26 Apr 2011 : Column 301W
Family Services
Early Years and Childcare
SEN and Disability
Young People
Overarching children, young people and families.
http://www.education.gov.uk/inthenews/pressnotices/a0074906/voluntary-and-community-organisations-awarded-60-million-grant
on the DfE website. Please note that final negotiations are still taking place and indicative amounts may vary slightly from the final amount awarded.
| Successful VCS organisations | |||
| Organisation name/consortium lead | Theme/strategic partner | Amount offered 2011-12 (£) | Amount offered 2012-13 (£) |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 302W
|
Early Education (British Association for Early Childhood Education) |
|||
|
National Association for Special Education Needs (The)—Nasen |
|||
26 Apr 2011 : Column 303W
26 Apr 2011 : Column 304W
| Note: The funding amounts are indicative. Year 1 funding is dependent on successful negotiations on detail of the grants and securing exemption for activity which is subject to the marketing and advertising efficiency controls. Year 2 amounts are dependent on successful delivery of agreed outcomes. Key to themes: 1. Families and Relationships 2. Early Years and Childcare 3. SEN and Disability 4. Children in Care 5. Child Protection and Safeguarding 6. Young People SP EY and C = Strategic Partner Early Years and Childcare SP FS = Strategic Partner Family Services SP SEND = Strategic Partner SEN and Disability SP YP = Strategic Partner Young People SP OA = Strategic Partner Over Arching children, young people and families | |||
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which of the statutory duties and powers held by the Young People's Learning Agency will (a) pass to his Department, (b) pass to the Education Funding Agency and (c) be abolished following the passage of the Education Bill; and if he will make a statement. [51730]
Mr Gibb: Subject to its successful passage, the Education Bill will abolish the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) and repeal all of its statutory duties and powers as set out in Part 3 and Schedule 3 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.
From April 2012, the YPLA's functions will become the responsibility of the Secretary of State and its funding functions will be administered by a new Education Funding Agency (EFA). The EFA will be established as an executive agency within the Department for Education. It will be responsible for calculating and distributing funding directly to all academies, free schools and providers of 16-19 education and training. The EFA will also distribute resources to local authorities for them to pass on, as now, to those primary and secondary schools that are not yet academies.
The Education Bill also sets out changes to provisions in the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. It proposes that the YPLA's power to intervene in sixth form colleges and associated duties in respect of an intervention policy should be repealed, also with its power to appoint members to a sixth form college's governing body. The requirement for sixth form colleges to gain consent of the YPLA before they exercise their supplementary powers in relation to certain investments, borrowing and related matters should be removed. The Bill transfers to the Secretary of State the YPLA's powers in respect of instruments and articles of government of a new sixth form college and amendments to instruments and articles of existing colleges. It also transfers to the Secretary of State the YPLA's power to make payments to local authorities in relation to certain loan liabilities. The Secretary of State's duty to consult the YPLA before making an order dissolving a further education corporation or sixth form college should also be repealed.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 305W
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many Young People's Learning Agency staff work (a) full-time and (b) part-time on issues relating to the education and training of people in youth custody. [51731]
Mr Gibb: The YPLA has one full-time member of staff who operates as the national policy lead on issues relating to the education and training of young people in youth custody and nine regional leads who work on these issues on a part-time basis.
Gregg McClymont: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an estimate of the amount of revenue which will be raised by bringing business jets into air passenger duty in each year to 2015-16. [52437]
Justine Greening: The Government's plans to extend air passenger duty (APD) to passengers aboard business jet flights are included in the Budget consultation document. Details of the new tax will be determined in light of the consultation responses; it is not therefore possible to accurately estimate revenues at the current time.
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the Bank Levy rates for short-term chargeable liabilities and long-term chargeable equity and liabilities were chosen for the periods (a) 1 January 2011 to 28 February 2011, (b) 1 March 2011 to 30 April 2011, (c) 1 May 2011 to 31 December 2011 and (d) 1 January 2012 onwards. [51791]
Mr Gauke: An explanation of the rates set for the Bank Levy is included in the Tax Information and Impact Note published at Budget 2011, available at:
www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6123.htm
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much financial support he plans to provide to savings accounts for looked-after children in each of the next four financial years. [49491]
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether Government contributions to the proposed junior ISA for looked-after children are to be backdated to 3 January 2011; [49817]
(2) how much funding his Department will provide for the proposed junior independent savings account for looked-after children in each year between 2011-12 and 2014-15; [49371]
(3) what the proposed level of contribution from the public purse to the proposed junior individual savings account for looked-after children will be in its first year of operation. [49372]
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Tim Loughton [holding answer 28 March 2011]: I have been asked to reply.
On 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 834, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the Government's intention to provide funding to enable looked-after children across the United Kingdom to benefit from the new tax free children's savings account known as the junior ISA.
We have already met representatives from Action for Children, Barnardo's and the Share Foundation. Over the coming months the Department for Education will be working with charities and other interested parties on the details of how the scheme will work, including the eligibility criteria and the level of Government contributions.
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what recent discussions he has had with the Government of Iceland on repayments from Icelandic banks to (a) local authorities and (b) individual depositors; [52146]
(2) what estimate he has made of the net cost to the economy of the collapse of Icelandic banks in 2008. [52147]
Mr Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations, overseas governments and ministries as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
The local authorities are creditors in the administrations of the failed Icelandic banks. The timing and quantum of recoveries will be determined by the administrators.
Arrangements have been made for all eligible UK depositors in the Icelandic banks to be fully compensated by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and HM Treasury.
The failure of the Icelandic banks is part of the wider global financial crisis and is impossible to separate so the Government have made no separate assessment of the economic impact of this specific issue.
Contact details for the administrators in the various resolutions are available on the HM Treasury website:
http://hm-treasury.gov.uk/fin_stability_icelandic_resolution.htm
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to section 1 of Project Merlin—Banks' Statement, what discussions he and his officials have had with each banking institution subscribing to the statement on the effect on economic recovery of the interest rates at which the banking institutions will lend to small and medium-sized businesses engaged in real economy activity; and if he will make a statement. [52267]
Mr Hoban: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 307W
Alison McGovern: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) with reference to Budget 2011, page 75, if he will publish the evidential basis for the data in Chart A.1; [51653]
(2) with reference to Budget 2011, page 76, if he will publish the evidential basis for the data in Chart A.2; [51654]
(3) with reference to Budget 2011, page 78, if he will publish the evidential basis for the data in (a) Chart A.5 and (b) Chart A.4; [51655]
(4) with reference to Budget 2011, page 77, if he will publish the evidential basis for the data in Chart A.3. [51656]
Mr Gauke: Chart A. 1 is produced using table 14 of the Office for National Statistics publication ‘The effects of taxes and benefits on household income, 2008/09’, published in June 2010.
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/nojournal/Taxes_Benefits_0809.pdf
Charts A.2 and A.3 are produced using HM Treasury's tax and benefit microsimulation model, as described in paragraph A.14 of the Budget 2011 data sources document:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_datasources.pdf
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the sums to be invested in UK businesses directly attributable to the measures announced in the 2011 Budget in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16. [51606]
Mr Gauke: The Office for Budget Responsibility stated in their June forecast that they expect the recovery to be supported by business investment, and that business investment growth will be strong in the next five years.
The aggregate effect of all the measures announced in Budget 2011 forms part of the OBR’s assessment of the economic outlook, but the impact of individual measures is not considered explicitly.
However, their forecast is underpinned by the Budget measures announced—for example, the reductions in the rate of corporation tax—that will help to reduce the cost of capital.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the deadweight cost of proposed changes to (a) the enterprise investment scheme, (b) venture capital trusts and (c) capital gains tax entrepreneurs' relief announced in the 2011 Budget. [51540]
Mr Gauke: Estimates of the Exchequer impact of the proposed changes to (a) the enterprise investment scheme, (b) venture capital trusts and (c) capital gains tax entrepreneurs' relief were published at Budget in the policy costings document available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2011budget_policycostings.pdf
26 Apr 2011 : Column 308W
The published static costings are the Exchequer impact before taking account of the behavioural effects as a result of these measures.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individuals he expects to be affected by the increase in the capital gains tax entrepreneurs' relief lifetime limit in each year to 2015-16. [51542]
Mr Gauke: Budget 2011 announced that the lifetime limit on gains qualifying for capital gains tax (CGT) entrepreneurs' relief would be increased from £5 million to £10 million from 6 April 2011.
Further information can be found in the published Tax Information and Impact Note of the Overview of Tax Legislation and Rates document:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_taxation_overview.pdf
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many new businesses he expects to be established as a result of the changes to (a) the enterprise investment scheme, (b) venture capital trusts and (c) capital gains tax entrepreneurs' relief announced in the 2011 Budget. [51543]
Mr Gauke: No such estimates have been made.
The numbers of companies qualifying under the EIS are published by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs as National Statistics at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/ent_invest_scheme/table8-1.pdf
The numbers of VCTs are also published by HMRC as National Statistics at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/venture/table8-6.pdf
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional investment he expects to arise from changes to capital gains tax entrepreneurs’ relief announced in the March 2011 Budget (a) for businesses directly benefiting from the changes and (b) across the economy. [52536]
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent estimate he has made of the effect on child benefit payments in real terms in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2013-14 of freezing such payments at the existing level. [51073]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 5 April 2011 ]: The following table shows the estimated average change per week per child as a result of freezing the rates of child benefit for the next three years rather than uprating by the change in the Consumer Prices Index. These estimates are based on the latest projections of CPI.
| £ | |||
|
|
2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 309W
To ensure support is better targeted at low-income families with children, the savings from the freeze in child benefit have been recycled into significant increases to the child tax credit. The child element of the child tax credit will be increased by £180 above indexation in 2011-12 and £110 above indexation in 2012-13. As a result, modelled tax and benefit reforms announced since Budget 2010 may have a small reduction in child poverty in 2011-12 and 2012-13; however given the uncertainty around these types of estimates, this change may not be statistically significant.
Ian Lavery: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the likely annual loss of income to affected households attributable to the reduction in the childcare element of working tax credit in (a) Wansbeck constituency, (b) Northumberland, (c) England and (d) Great Britain for individuals earning (i) up to £16,000, (ii) between £16,000 and £24,000, (iii) between £24,000 and £30,000, (iv) between £30,000 and £40,000, (v) between £40,000 and £50,000 and (vi) £50,000 and above in each of the next four financial years. [51354]
Mr Gauke: All households in which the childcare element of working tax credit is payable will see a fall in the support provided through the childcare element of working tax credit in the next four financial years.
However, the reduction of childcare support to 70% from 80% is part of a range of reforms to the tax credits system announced at the spending review, for example child tax credits increased £180 real size from April. There are interactions between the measures so estimating the impact of just one measure does not give a clear indication of the full impact on households.
The Government published estimates of the distributional impact of the whole package of announced tax and benefit measures which can be found at:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_annexb.pdf
This distributional analysis is not available at the geographical breakdowns requested.
Ms Buck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many families (a) nationally and (b) in London were in receipt of the childcare element of working tax credit and claiming for eligible childcare costs of more than (i) £100 per week for one child and (ii) £170 for two or more children in the latest period for which figures are available. [52511]
Mr Gauke: The following table shows the number of households (a) nationally (in the UK) and (b) in London that were benefiting from the childcare element of working tax credit by (i) more than £100 a week for one child or (ii) more than £170 a week for two or more children. This is as at December 2010.
| Number of children | Nationally (UK) | London |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 310W
This information is based on tax credits snapshot data. More information about these data can be found at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/personal-tax-credits/cwtc-dec2010.pdf
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in the level of revenue accruing to the Exchequer as a result of companies moving profits outside the UK in response to the changes to controlled foreign company rules announced in the 2011 Budget. [51544]
Mr Gauke: The Exchequer impact of the CFC interim and full reforms was published at Budget 2011.
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2011budget_policycostings.pdf
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6370.htm
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely level of corporation tax receipts in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16 based on the economic and fiscal forecasts of the Office for Budget Responsibility in March 2011, before taking into account the corporation tax measures announced in the 2011 Budget. [52379]
Mr Gauke: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts of onshore corporation tax receipts before taking account of all the onshore corporation tax measures announced in Budget 2011 are as follows:
|
|
£ billion |
The OBR published its forecast of Corporation Tax receipts for 2010-11 to 2015-16, after taking account of the corporation tax measures announced in Budget 2011, as part of its ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’ document on 23 March 2011 (Table 4.7, page 103). A link to the full document is available here:
http://cdn.budgetresponsibility.independent.gov.uk/economic_and_fiscal_outlook_23032011.pdf
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely change to the level of business funding in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16 as a result of the changes to the corporation tax package announced in the 2011 Budget. [52380]
Mr Gauke: A number of measures announced in the 2011 Budget are expected to have a positive effect on investment in businesses and the level of finance available to them.
The aggregate effect of the measures announced in Budget 2011 on business funding has not been estimated but the Exchequer impact of individual measures announced in the 2011 Budget is available here:
26 Apr 2011 : Column 311W
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2011budget_policycostings.pdf
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the effect of the reductions in corporation tax announced in the 2011 Budget on levels of economic growth in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16. [52523]
Mr Gauke: In their March 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) have forecast further increases in business investment from 2011 onwards.
The OBR have stated that the cost of capital is the fundamental determinant of business investment in the long-run. The additional corporate tax measures announced at Budget 2011 provide further reductions in the cost of capital for firms and will promote higher levels of business investment.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the change in the level of business investment arising from implementation of the proposed changes to corporation tax announced in the 2011 Budget in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16. [52525]
Mr Gauke: Reductions in corporation tax are central to the Government’s economic ambition to secure the most competitive tax system among the G20 group of countries.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) stated in their forecast for Budget 2011 that they expect the recovery to be supported by business investment, and that reductions in the rate of corporation tax underpin their forecast for strong business investment growth over the next five years.
The aggregate effect of all the measures announced in Budget 2011 forms part of the OBR’s overall assessment of the economic outlook, but the impacts of individual measures are not considered explicitly. However, their forecast is underpinned by Budget measures, and the June Budget 2010 reductions in the rate of corporation tax will reduce the cost of capital. The measures announced in Budget 2011will further lower capital costs and promote investment and economic growth.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional fixed business investment as defined in table 3.7 of the Office for Budget Responsibility March 2011 Economic Outlook he expects to arise from the decrease in the main rate of corporation tax to (a) 26 per cent. in 2011-12, (b) 25 per cent. in 2012-13, (c) 24 per cent. in 2013-14 and (d) 23 per cent from 2014-15. [52534]
Mr Gauke: Reductions in corporation tax are central to the Government’s economic ambition to secure the most competitive tax system among the G20 group of countries.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) stated in their forecast for Budget 2011 that they expect the recovery to be supported by business investment and that reductions in the rate of corporation tax underpin their forecast for strong business investment growth over the next five years.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 312W
The aggregate effect of all the measures announced in Budget 2011 forms part of the OBR’s overall assessment of the economic outlook, but the impacts of individual measures are not considered explicitly. However, their forecast is underpinned by Budget measures, and the June Budget 2010 reductions in the rate of corporation tax will reduce the cost of capital. The measures announced in Budget 2011 will further lower capital costs and promote investment and economic growth.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much additional fixed business investment as defined in table 3.7 of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s March 2011 Economic Outlook he expects to arise from the corporation tax changes announced in the March 2011 Budget in each year to 2014-15. [52535]
Mr Gauke: Reductions in corporation tax are central to the Government’s economic ambition to secure the most competitive tax system among the G20 group of countries .
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) stated in their forecast for Budget 2011 that they expect the recovery to be supported by business investment, and that reductions in the rate of corporation tax underpin their forecast for strong business investment growth over the next five years.
The aggregate effect of all the measures announced in Budget 2011 forms part of the OBR’s overall assessment of the economic outlook, but the impacts of individual measures are not considered explicitly. However, their forecast is underpinned by Budget measures, and the June Budget 2010 reductions in the rate of corporation tax will reduce the cost of capital. The measures announced in Budget 2011 will further lower capital costs and promote investment and economic growth.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses in (a) Scotland, (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and (c) East Ayrshire will be affected by the proposed reduction in the rate of corporation tax. [50886]
Mr Gauke: The approximate number of UK businesses with lower tax bills as a result of the reductions in the main rate of corporation tax announced in both the June 2010 and March 2011 Budgets, are estimated to be around 30,000 that pay tax at the main rate, and around 40,000 that are taxed at the main rate but who benefit from marginal relief.
These estimates were published in an impact assessment of the reductions in the main rate of corporation tax announced in the June 2010 Budget, but the number of UK businesses affected are unchanged from those previously published, following the further reductions announced in the March 2011 Budget.
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/corporation_tax_charge_and_main_rate_for_financial_year_2012.pdf
HMRC do not routinely estimate the number of businesses affected or the fiscal impact of business tax changes at regional or constituency level.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 313W
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the savings to businesses in (a) Scotland, (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and (c) East Ayrshire as a result of the reduction in the rate of corporation tax in each of the next four years. [50887]
Mr Gauke: The UK-wide fiscal impact of the reductions in the main rate of corporation tax announced in the March 2011 Budget, and the previously announced reductions in the June 2010 Budget, were shown in Table 2.1 (page 42) and Table 2.2 (page 44) respectively of the “Budget 2011” document published by HM Treasury on 23 March 2011.
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_complete.pdf
HMRC do not routinely estimate the number of businesses affected or fiscal impact of business tax changes at regional or constituency level.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in (a) Scotland, (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and (c) East Ayrshire which will be affected by the increase of the small and medium-sized enterprise rate of research and development tax credits; [50888]
(2) what estimate he has made of the monetary value to businesses in (a) Scotland, (b) Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency and (c) East Ayrshire of the increase in the small and medium-sized enterprise rate of research and development tax credits in each of the next four years. [50889]
Mr Gauke: The information requested is not available. Estimates of the number of businesses affected and the fiscal impact of changes to the rate of relief are not broken down by geographical region.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely effect of the measures in the 2011 Budget on (a) household debt as a proportion of gross disposable income and (b) total household debt in each of the next four years. [51910]
Justine Greening: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was formed in May 2010 to make an independent assessment of the public finances and the economy.
In March, the OBR published forecasts of the UK economy which took into account the impact of the measures in the 2011 Budget. In the ‘Economic and Fiscal Outlook’ (Cm 8036, paragraph 2.44, page 35), the OBR stated, that aside from inflation, there is no significant adjustment to their economic forecast as a result of the measures announced in the Budget.
Jon Trickett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officers of his Department since his appointment. [51996]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 314W
Justine Greening: There have been no ministerial directions issued since the Chancellor of the Exchequer's appointment.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51517]
Justine Greening: The Government have not set targets for a reduction in the number of posts in HM Treasury or its non-departmental public bodies. Workforce implications of the spending review settlement will depend on internal budget allocations and subsequent management decisions.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many of his Department's staff have taken early retirement in each of the last five years; and what the cost to his Department was in each such year. [50841]
Justine Greening: Under the Principal Civil Service Pension scheme (PCSPS), staff can resign their employment and take their pension early on reduced terms if they meet the critieria laid down in the PCSPS rules at no cost to the Department. These staff, are not included in the following table.
Similarly, those taking early retirement on medical grounds are also excluded.
The following table therefore only gives details of staff retiring early and where the Department has incurred costs.
|
|
Number of staff | Cost £000 |
Due to the low numbers of staff leaving on early retirement the years have been amalgamated to avoid identification of individuals.
Mike Freer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the staff vacancy rate in his Department was in 2010-11; and what vacancy rate has been assumed in his Department's budget for 2011-12. [51388]
Justine Greening: The staff vacancy rate in HM Treasury during 2010-11 was around 5%. No vacancy rate has been assumed in the Department's budget for 2011-12 due to the fluidity of the staffing levels of HM Treasury.
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will issue guidance to parish councils on agreements with farmers on the use of red diesel in vehicles used to clear heavy snow from roads; and if he will make a statement. [51856]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 315W
Justine Greening: Farmers can use tractors running on red diesel to clear heavy snow from roads. Full guidance on this can be found in Notice 75—Fuel for road vehicles which is available on the HMRC website at:
www.hmrc.gov.uk
John Cryer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the name is of each subsidy and levy programme in the energy sector which (a) does and (b) does not count against public expenditure limits. [52539]
Justine Greening: The renewables obligation, feed-in tariffs and warm home discount are classified as levy-funded spending programmes, in line with the Office for National Statistics' guidance, including their 2006 classification decision on the renewables obligation:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/articles/economic_trends/ET635Gazely.pdf
There are a number of conventional spending programmes aimed at the energy sector that are funded from within DECC’s budget. This includes support for the first carbon capture and storage project and for the offshore wind infrastructure fund. The renewable heat incentive is also conventional spending, funded from general taxation, and budgeted for through annually managed expenditure.
Energy suppliers are subject to a range of regulatory instruments that are not currently classified as public expenditure. Examples include the carbon emissions reduction target, environmental permitting regulations implementing the large combustion plant directive and the regulations governing the introduction of smart meters.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the number of agricultural businesses likely to participate in the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme; and what estimate he has made of the average annual monetary value of the scheme to such businesses. [50813]
Justine Greening: The Government does not collect information to the level of detail required to estimate the number of agricultural businesses that currently participate in the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme or the average annual worth of the scheme to this sector. The tax savings for all types of businesses arising from the Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme for energy and water saving technologies is estimated to be £65 million for 2011-12.
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the likely effects of enterprise zones on levels of (a) revenue from corporation tax and (b) economic growth (i) within enterprise zones and (ii) nationally. [51784]
Justine Greening: The Government are working with Local Enterprise Partnerships to maximise the economic impact of Enterprise Zones by supporting opportunities for real growth identified by local partners.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 316W
The costing for the Enterprise Zones measure is set out at page 20 of “Budget 2011 policy costings”, published alongside the Budget:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_policycostings.pdf
Chapter 1 of the document explains which effects are included in the policy costings and how the costings fit into the Office of Budget Responsibility forecasts.
Mr Marsden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what dates prior to the 2011 Budget Statement (a) he and (b) officials in his Department discussed with (i) local authorities and (ii) local enterprise partnerships designation of areas as an enterprise zone. [51951]
Justine Greening: Treasury officials began discussions with local authorities and local enterprise partnerships about the possible location of enterprise zones in March 2011. This followed decisions by the Chancellor about the criteria that would be used to select local enterprise partnership areas, within which the initial round of enterprise zones would be located.
Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in Scotland which will be affected by the change in the lifetime limit for entrepreneurs’ relief; [50890]
(2) what estimate he has made of the monetary value to businesses in Scotland of the change in the lifetime limit for entrepreneurs' relief in each of the next four years. [50891]
Mr Gauke: No such estimate has been made. However, the Government have published further information about the impact of Budget announcements in the Tax Information and Impact notes.
Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid by his Department (a) to the EU budget gross, (b) to the EU budget net of expenditure which returned to the UK, (c) to all EU institutions gross and (d) to all EU institutions net of expenditure which returned to the UK in (i) 2008, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2010. [51754]
Justine Greening: Details of the UK’s gross and net contributions to the EU Budget in the years 2008 and 2009, together with an estimate for 2010 can be found in Table 3.1 (page21) of European Union Finances 2010 (Cm 7978) which is available in the House Library. Other payments, e.g. UK contributions to the European Development Fund (EDF) are paid direct by Departments. The Department for International Development makes payments in the case of EDF, and not HM Treasury.
Nick Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his evidential basis was for setting the base oil price for the return of the fuel duty escalator at $75 per barrel. [51369]
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Justine Greening: The Government believe that the increased rate of Supplementary Charge should prevail when the oil price is high, given increased profitability of UK oil and gas production at such times. The Government will set out the final level of the trigger price mechanism after seeking the views of oil and gas companies and motoring groups, but suggest that $75 per barrel would be appropriate.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of UK exports directly attributable to measures in the 2011 Budget in each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16. [51604]
Justine Greening: The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) was formed in May 2010 to make an independent assessment of the public finances and the economy. On 23 March 2011, the OBR released its official forecast for trade, which incorporates the effect of all the measures announced in the Budget. As the OBR sets out in table 3.7, page 79 of its “March 2011 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (Cm 8036)”, it expects exports to grow by 7.9% in 2011, 6.5% in 2012, 6.2% in 2013, 5.7% in 2014 and 5.6% in 2015.
Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans HM Revenue and Customs has to introduce the Faster Payments system; and what cost-benefit analysis of the system has been conducted. [51335]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 5 April 2011]: HMRC plan to introduce the capability to accept Faster Payments during 2012 driven largely by the requirements of an EC Payment Services Directive (PSD) which will have an impact on all banks within the EU.
The costs and benefits of introducing Faster Payments in HMRC will be analysed as part of the project that has been established to manage its implementation.
Mr Umunna: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that financial services companies which operate in the UK and are not covered by the Project Merlin agreement make a greater contribution to regional economies. [50122]
Mr Hoban: The Government’s response to the Green Paper ‘Financing a Private Sector Recovery’, published in 2010, set out a comprehensive package of Government and industry-led measures to support small businesses. These include:
Additional support for the Enterprise Finance Guarantee (EFG) over the next four years to enable over £2 billion of lending to viable small businesses that lack collateral or track record; and
increased equity finance, through a £1.5 billion bank-led ‘Business Growth Fund’ (since increased by a further £1 billion) and through £200 million of additional funding for the ‘Enterprise Capital Funds programme’, both of which could unlock further debt finance for small and medium-sized businesses, including those in the regions.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 318W
In response to the Government’s Green Paper on business finance, the British Bankers’ Association published the outcomes of their Business Finance Taskforce, which was written in conjunction with the six major UK banks. The Taskforce banks have committed to improving customer relationships through a new Lending Code, ensuring better access to finance and promoting better understanding.
Mr Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the effects on food prices of speculation on commodities without regulation; and if he will make a statement. [51950]
Justine Greening: Food supply and prices are affected by a number of factors including global energy prices, global stock levels, the size of harvests, changes in exchange rates and national agricultural trade and marketing policies. On balance the Government are sceptical about the degree to which speculation has played a significant causal role. The Government continue to monitor relevant research in this area with interest.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the monetary value to each industrial sector of (a) reform of the controlled foreign company rules, (b) reform of taxation of foreign branches, (c) interim changes to controlled foreign company rules and (d) reform of corporate capital gains simplification. [51555]
Mr Gauke: The CFC rules potentially affect all UK companies with overseas subsidiaries. The changes introduced are designed to make the current CFC rules easier to operate, more competitive internationally, and to benefit as many businesses as possible.
The sector profile of the exemption of foreign branches owned by UK companies indicated that certain UK groups with significant overseas operations will be the most immediate beneficiaries of the rule changes.
The simplification of the rules covering corporate capital gains are expected to benefit any corporate groups who undertake the relevant transactions.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether he consulted the Governor of the Bank of England before announcing his decision to increase the UK’s holdings of foreign currency reserves; [50810]
(2) what advice on foreign currency holdings he received from the (a) Debt Management Office and (b) Bank of England prior to taking the decision to increase UK holdings in foreign currency reserves. [50833]
Mr Hoban: As set out in the Debt Management Office (DMO) Executive Agency Framework document, Treasury Ministers set the annual financing remit for gilts, including any sterling financing for the reserves, having regard to advice from the chief executive of the DMO. The Framework document is published on the DMO’s website at:
26 Apr 2011 : Column 319W
http://www.dmo.gov.uk/documentview.aspx? docname=publications/corpgovernance/fwork040405.pdf&page
In its role as HM Treasury’s agent for the Official Reserves, the Bank of England provided advice to HM Treasury on the financing of the reserves.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he plans to purchase overseas bonds as part of his policy to increase holdings of foreign currency reserves in any of the next four financial years. [50831]
Mr Hoban: The funds of the Exchange Equalisation Account are predominantly invested in securities issued, or guaranteed, by the national Governments of the United States, euro-area countries and Japan.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the effects on (a) levels of trade, (b) financial stability and (c) economic growth of an increase in the UK's foreign currency reserves. [50832]
Mr Hoban: The direct effects of the plans for the UK's foreign currency reserves on trade, financial stability and economic growth are negligible. However, the additional financing will meet potential calls from the International Monetary Fund, helping to ensure the stability of the global monetary system.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the effects on the value of sterling of increasing levels of UK holdings of foreign currencies. [50834]
Mr Hoban: As in the previous financial year, the Government plan to hedge most of the foreign exchange exposure for assets purchased using new sterling financing. This means the Government plans no net selling of sterling when undertaking these purchases and expects no material impact on the value of sterling.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the interest which would accrue to the Exchequer from increasing holdings in foreign currency (a) cash reserves and (b) bonds by £18 billion in the next four financial years. [50835]
Mr Hoban: As set out in the Debt and Reserves Management Report 2011 the Government will raise £6 billion of sterling financing for the Official Reserves in 2011-12. The Government envisages sterling financing for the Official Reserves being held at a similar level on average over the three years up to, and including, 2014-15; making £24 billion in total. The full report is available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_debtreserves.htm
Any increase in foreign currency holdings arising from this financing will depend upon calls from the International Monetary Fund and exchange rate movements. In accordance with the service level agreement, the Bank manages the official reserves so as to ensure adherence to Treasury policy aims and thereby maintain their liquidity and security, and subject to that, maximise the return from holding reserves.
The actual interest received on increased foreign currency holdings will depend on the asset allocation chosen and
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market interest rates over the next four years. Interest received on the reserves is recorded in the annual accounts available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/ukecon_eea_index.htm
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what plans he has for the level of the UK’s foreign currency reserve holdings of (a) euros, (b) US dollars and (c) yen in each of the next four financial years; [50989]
(2) what plans he has for the level of the UK’s foreign currency reserves in each of the next four financial years. [50990]
Mr Hoban: As at end February 2011, the gross reserves stood at $85.4 billion (£52.5 billion) of which $47.6 billion (£29.3 billion) was foreign currency.
As set out in the Debt and Reserves Management Report 2011, the Government will raise £6 billion of sterling financing for the Official Reserves in 2011-12. The Government envisages sterling financing for the Official Reserves being held at a similar level on average over the three years up to, and including, 2014-15; making £24 billion in total. This sterling financing will be sufficient to meet potential calls on the Official Reserves from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The full report is available at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_debtreserves.htm
The overall level of the UK’s foreign currency reserves over the next four years will depend on actual calls from the International Monetary Fund, exchange rate movements and changes in the value of assets held. The level of the reserves is reported on a monthly basis on the HM Treasury website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_notices_index.htm
In addition to the factors above, the levels of individual currency holdings within the Official Reserves will depend on asset allocation decisions made over the next four years.
The current currency breakdown of the reserves is available on the Bank of England website at:
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/reserves/index.htm
The framework within which these asset allocation decisions are currently made is available on HM Treasury’s website at:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/management_official_reserves.pdf
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely increase in fuel bills attributable to the tax on carbon proposed in the 2011 Budget in each year from 2013-14 to 2019-20. [51817]
Justine Greening: An explanation of the impact of the carbon price floor on wholesale electricity prices and the likely average bill impact is given in HMRC's Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the Budget. This is available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6111.pdf
26 Apr 2011 : Column 321W
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to ensure that changes to the gift aid scheme announced in the 2011 Budget will bring maximum benefit to genuine charities; and what steps he plans to take to prevent diverting resources away from genuine charities. [51536]
Justine Greening: The changes to the Gift Aid scheme announced in the 2011 Budget will benefit a wide range of donors and charities by increasing the income of charities while reducing their administrative burdens. Many of the changes were recommended by the Gift Aid Forum and, following implementation, these changes will be kept under review.
Charities may only benefit from Gift Aid if they meet the definition of a charity for tax purposes in Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010. Under that legislation HMRC applies a number of checks to help ensure that only genuine charities benefit from Gift Aid and other tax reliefs.
Luciana Berger: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 31 March 2011, Official Report, column 474W, on Urenco, which publicly-owned assets the Government is considering for sale; and if he will make a statement. [51860]
Justine Greening: We publish statements on assets we intend to dispose of at appropriate moments from time to time. The latest was at Budget 2011. Where decisions are made to use proceeds from such disposals for the Green Investment Bank, we will also announce this.
The Government intend to continue their policy of only announcing sales or commercialisations where the major policy decisions have been reached, for example the terms of a sale, and where we are confident that a transaction could take place within 12 months.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to paragraph 1.112 of the Budget Red Book, March 2011, whether his Department made an estimate prior to the 2011 Budget of the amount of money the Green Investment Bank could leverage if it were allowed to borrow in (a) 2012, (b) 2013, (c) 2014 and (d) 2015; and if he will make a statement. [52496]
Justine Greening: The Budget announced that the Green Investment Bank (GIB) will be given borrowing powers from 2015-16 and once public sector net debt is falling as percentage of GDP. The amount of borrowing that it will be possible to leverage will be dependent on the model taken forward, including the mechanism for borrowing and the risk profile of the institution's investment portfolio.
The £3 billion initial capitalisation for the GIB announced at the Budget will be used to leverage significant additional private investment into green infrastructure, such that there could be in the region of £18 billion of investment by 2014-15 as a result of the GIB.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 322W
Mr David Davis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many cases have been dealt with under HM Revenue and Customs' high-risk corporate programme in each year since its inception. [49960]
Mr Gauke [holding answer 30 March 2011]: The number of cases dealt with under HM Revenue and Custom's High Risk Corporates Programme is as follows:
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Settled | Opened |
Alun Cairns: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate the cost to the Exchequer of customs duty and value added tax foregone on the contents of packages inbound to the UK identified as containing gifts which did not contain gifts in the latest period for which figures are available. [52240]
Mr Gauke: It is not possible to provide such an estimate. Information is not gathered at a level of detail that would allow such estimates to be made.
Ed Balls: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate (a) the number of people who would pay less tax as a result of and (b) the cost to the Exchequer arising from increasing the income tax personal allowance to £8,205 immediately and then in £100 increments to £10,005 in 2013-14 with the same threshold levels in 2014-15 and 2015-16. [52143]
Mr Gauke: The Exchequer costs of increasing the personal allowance can be approximated from Table 1.6 “Direct effects of illustrative tax changes”, available on the HM Revenue and Custom’s website at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/tax_expenditures/table1-6.pdf
Budget 2011 announced that the personal allowance for under 65s will increase by a further £630 to £8,105 in 2012-13, reducing income tax for 25 million individuals. A similar number of individuals would benefit from further increases in the personal allowance, consistent with the Government’s objective to support lower and middle income earners by raising the personal allowance to £10,000, with real terms progress towards that goal every year.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the likely yield from the 50 pence rate of income tax in each of the next four financial years. [51067]
26 Apr 2011 : Column 323W
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the amount of revenue which was raised by the 50 pence rate of income tax in 2010-11. [51556]
Mr Gauke: These estimates are available in the March Budget 2010 report, (table A11 on page 140), available at:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20100407010852/http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/budget2010_annexa.pdf
The Government believe the 50% rate could do lasting damage to the UK economy if it were to become permanent. The Chancellor has asked HMRC to assess the revenue raised by this measure after self-assessment data for the 2010-11 tax year are available.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the terms of reference are for the HM Revenue and Customs review of the 50 pence rate of income tax. [51557]
Mr Gauke: The Chancellor has asked HMRC to assess the revenue raised by the 50% rate using relevant self-assessment data.
Mr Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much tax was collected from taxpayers paying the higher rate of income tax in 1988-89; [51769]
(2) what proportion of income tax was paid by the top 1% of taxpayers in 1988-89. [51883]
Mr Gauke: Taxpayers were liable to pay an estimated £46.5 billion of total income tax in 1988-89. Taxpayers paying at 40% were liable for an estimated £15.6 billion.
The top 1% of taxpayers by total income in 1988-89 were liable for 15% of total income tax liabilities.
The figures provided are estimates of income tax liabilities based on the 1988-89 Survey of Personal Incomes. Married couples were treated as one taxpaying unit in 1988-89.
Chris Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much additional saving by individuals the Government expects to arise from the introduction of Junior ISAs; [51796]
(2) how many savers in Junior ISAs he expects to have household incomes between (a) 0 and £10,000, (b) £10,000 and £20,000, (c) £20,000 and £30,000, (d) £30,000 and £40,000 and (e) £50,000 and over; and how much he expects to be saved by households in each income band. [51797]
Mr Hoban: The Government believe that Junior ISAs will create the conditions for families to save more for their children than would otherwise happen.
For the purposes of estimating the Exchequer impacts we have estimated that 20% of eligible children will have a Junior ISA. However, this is not a target.
The Government have made no estimates of the take-up levels of Junior ISA accounts among the income groups specified by the hon. Member. This is a voluntary
26 Apr 2011 : Column 324W
scheme, but the Government hope that parents across all income groups will choose to save for their child’s future through Junior ISA accounts and are encouraging providers to set low minimum payments to help facilitate this.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Exchequer has received from Land Registry operations in each of the last 10 years. [51321]
Danny Alexander [holding answer 5 April 2011]: In the past 10 years, the following amounts have been paid into the Exchequer, representing the cost of capital charge on the public dividend capital vested in the Land Registry when it became a trading fund.
|
|
£000 |
In addition, the Exchequer received £114.188 million in 2003-04 from the Land Registry as an equity withdrawal in respect of its accumulated reserves and cash balances.
Mike Weatherley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) whether his Department has underwritten any bank loans given to foreign nationals residing in the UK since 2006; [52363]
(2) what discussions his Department has had with banks on the repayment of bank loans given to foreign nationals residing in the UK. [52364]
Mr Hoban: Decisions about whether to lend to specific individuals or businesses remain commercial decisions for banks and building societies. It would be inappropriate for the Government to intervene in these decisions.
Mr Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr Donohoe) of 17 November 2010, 16 December 2010 and 13 January 2011, on mortgage regulation. [51612]
Mr Hoban: I wrote to all hon. Members on 10 December 2010 to set out the Government’s overall position on the Mortgage Market Review. This letter was in response to any outstanding correspondence that hon. Members may have raised.
Mr Donohoe:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire of 15 October 2010,
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26 November 2010, 12 January 2011 and 10 February 2011, on Crown Currency Exchange. [51613]
Mr Hoban: I wrote to all hon. Members on 18 November 2010 to set out the Government’s overall position on Crown Currency Exchange. This letter was in response to any outstanding correspondence that hon. Members may have raised.
Mr Donohoe: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire of 16 September 2010, 26 October 2010, 25 November 2010, 11 January 2011 and 10 February 2011, on deregulated commodity speculation. [51614]
Mr Hoban: I wrote to all hon. Members on 1 December 2010 to set out the Government's overall position on agricultural derivates markets. This letter was in response to any outstanding correspondence that hon. Members may have raised.
Mrs Moon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs Moon) of 3 February 2011 on bank mortgage interest rates. [51673]
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has set a timetable for decision-making on his proposed merger of the national insurance and taxation systems. [51919]
Mr Gauke: The Government believes that integrating the operation of income tax and national insurance contributions (NICs) can remove distortions, reduce burdens on business and improve fairness for individuals. However, it recognises that any change will be complex and involve a wide range of policy and implementation issues.
An initial consultation document will be published later this year to consult on the options, stages and timing of reform. Responses to the consultation will inform future decisions on the timing of any subsequent reforms.
Mr Redwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the cost to the Exchequer of the provision of tax exempt National Savings and Investment products in the last year for which figures are available. [51749]
Justine Greening: The following table sets out the total tax foregone for NS&I tax free products, for 2009-10, as the most recent published information.
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£ |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 326W
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he received from representatives of the UK oil and gas industry between the June 2010 Budget and the 2011 Budget; and on what dates. [51564]
Justine Greening: The Government have ongoing meetings and engagement with the oil and gas industry.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effect on investment in oil and gas production in the North Sea of the announcements made in the 2011 Budget. [51615]
Justine Greening: The Government do not expect a significant impact on investment or production in the forecast period as a consequence of this measure.
As set out in the Budget, in cases where the tax change has made previously commercial new projects uncommercial, the Government will consider with the industry the case for introducing a new category of qualifying field for field allowance to support marginal fields.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consultation he undertook with the oil and gas industries on the increase in the North Sea oil supplementary charge; and on what dates such consultation took place. [51616]
Justine Greening: It is not the current (or previous) Government’s policy to consult on tax rate changes in advance of Budget announcements.
Lindsay Roy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs about members of the public receiving an incorrect tax coding; and if he will make a statement. [52057]
Mr Gauke: Treasury Ministers and officials meet representatives from a wide range of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and implementation. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
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Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on proposals to extend the Simplified PAYE Deduction Scheme to include non-profit community member organisations; and what assessment he has made of such representations. [51137]
Mr Gauke: We are not aware of any representations in respect of this issue.
Nick Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has undertaken research on the effects of using the consumer price index when uprating benefits for army invalid pensioners and war widows under pensionable age. [51368]
Mr Robathan: I have been asked to reply.
No specific research has been undertaken on the effect of the change on this benefit group. The Treasury took the decision to change from retail price index to consumer price index (CPI) across all areas of the public service. Calculations and research were not carried out within this Department.
The Ministry of Defence calculates war pensions benefits programme costs and produces annual forecasts and estimates. The estimate for financial year 2011-12 prepared in January 2010 was reduced by 2.8% to £938 million in January 2011. However, this takes into account a number of changed assumptions including revised mortality rates in the number of claimants or potential claimants and the use of CPI as the basis for indexation.
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the distributional impact on households by 2014-15 of each measure announced in (a) the March 2010 Budget, (b) the June 2010 Budget, (c) the comprehensive spending review and (d) the 2011 Budget as a proportion of net income in 2010-11, including benefits in kind from public services; [52159]
(2) what estimate he has made of the distributional impact of each (a) tax, (b) tax credit and (c) benefit measure announced in (i) the March 2010 Budget, (ii) the June 2010 Budget, (iii) the comprehensive spending review and (iv) the 2011 Budget as a proportion of net expenditure in each expenditure decile in 2012-13; [52160]
(3) what estimate he has made of the distributional impact of each (a) tax, (b) tax credit and (c) benefit measure announced in (i) the March 2010 Budget, (ii) the June 2010 Budget, (iii) the comprehensive spending review and (iv) the 2011 Budget (A) as a proportion of net income in each income decile, (B) in cash terms in each expenditure decile and (C) in cash terms in each income decile in 2012-13. [51989]
Mr Gauke:
The Government have gone further than any previous Government in publishing detailed distributional analysis of tax, tax credit and benefit decisions. This analysis was first published at the June Budget 2010, and was expanded at the spending review
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2010 to include the distributional impact of public spending decisions. The analysis was most recently updated at Budget 2011.
It shows the cumulative impact of tax, tax credit and benefit measures announced by this Government along with changes announced in the March Budget 2010 or earlier (such as changes to national insurance contributions) on which the Government have introduced or will be introducing legislation. The data sources document, available from the HM Treasury website, contains a full list of the measures it has been possible to capture.
Chart A.2 shows the impact of all tax, tax credit and benefit measures in cash terms by income decile in 2012-13 while chart A3 shows this information as a proportion of income.
Chart A.4 shows the impact of all tax, tax credit and benefit measures in cash terms by expenditure decile in 2012-13 while chart A.5 shows this information as a proportion of expenditure.
Chart A.6 shows the overall impact of the consolidation on households in 2014-15 as a per cent of 2010-11 net income, including households' benefits in kind from public services.
Mr Tom Harris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of the Government deficit at May 2010 he has attributed to (a) spending and (b) reduced tax revenues. [51971]
Mr Gauke: The Office for Budget Responsibility published their pre-Budget forecast in June 2010. This contained projections to 2015-16 of Public Sector Current Receipts and Total Managed Expenditure.
Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was (a) received in contributions and (b) paid out by each public sector pension scheme in each year since 1981. [47157]
Danny Alexander: [holding answer 16 March 2011]: Expenditure on public service pensions reflects the pensions promises made to public servants over the last few decades and is dependent on a range of factors including the number of pensions in payment, the size of these pensions and also annual inflation.
Contribution receipts reflect the promises being made to today’s public servants and are dependent on the number of individuals accruing a pension and the salaries they earn.
Receipts and expenditure are not expected to balance. For example, the level of receipts can exceed expenditure when a work force is growing. This is a separate issue to the long-term sustainability of a scheme, which is to do with the ability of the scheme to meet liabilities as they fall due.
Detailed information and data, including past levels of expenditure and receipts, for individual public service pension schemes are available from the relevant Government Department, and for many of the schemes are published in annual resource accounts, copies of which are placed in the House Library.
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For the year 2001-02 onwards, the aggregate level of contribution receipts and expenditure for all the centrally administered unfunded public service schemes is published annually in the Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses, copies of which are placed in the House Library and available online at the following address:
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/pespub_pesa10.htm
Aggregate levels of expenditure and receipts for all unfunded schemes (except the locally administered police and fire pension schemes) as published are shown in the following table.
| £ million | ||
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Expenditure | Contribution receipts |
In 2001, the methodology for charging and accounting for unfunded public service pensions was revised and comparable information from before this date is not available centrally.
The Office of Budget Responsibility forecasts levels of expenditure and receipts for all the unfunded schemes going forward.
Information on the funded local government pension scheme is presented in chapter 7 of the Local Government Finance Statistics England, a summary is shown in the following table and the document is available online at the following address:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/financialstatistics202010
| £ million | ||
|
|
Expenditure | Contribution receipts |
Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the potential effects of excluding feed-in tariff businesses from the Enterprise Investment scheme and Venture Capital Trusts on the Government's capacity to encourage community-owned renewable energy schemes. [52189]
Mr Gauke:
Legislation will be introduce in the Finance Bill 2012 providing that companies whose trade consists wholly or substantially in the receipt of feed-in tariffs will only be eligible for the Enterprise Investment scheme
26 Apr 2011 : Column 330W
or Venture Capital Trusts where commercial electricity generation commences before 6 April 2012. The change will not apply to any shares issued before 23 March 2011.
This change is designed to improve the focus of the schemes on smaller, higher risk companies. Draft legislation will be published for consultation before it is implemented.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the level of avoidance of stamp duty on the purchase of homes through the use of companies, partnerships, or limited liability partnerships in (a) each of the last four financial years and (b) the next four financial years. [51068]
Justine Greening: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) keeps tax revenues for all taxes under review. HMRC intends to include further details about the avoidance risk to stamp duty land tax later in the year, in the ‘Measuring Tax Gaps’ publication for 2011.
Mr Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with the Governor of the Bank of England on the short and medium-term valuation of Sterling. [51535]
Mr Hoban: The Chancellor has frequent discussions with the Governor of the Bank of England on a wide range of issues including prospects for the UK economy.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 28 March 2011, Official Report, column 38W, on tax allowances, what information his Department holds on the distributional effect of tax reliefs and allowances relating to (a) pensions and (b) individual savings accounts. [51605]
Mr Hoban: The available information on the distributional aspect of pensions and individual savings accounts as published by HM Revenue and Customs on their website can be found at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/table7-10-may10.pdf
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/isa/table9-7-07-08.pdf
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/isa/table9-10-07-08.pdf
Chris Bryant: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what representations he has received from Lord Lawson of Blaby on tax loopholes operated through the Channel Islands; [51167]
(2) what advice he has received on closing tax loopholes used by British companies in the Channel Islands to avoid paying tax in the UK. [51168]
Mr Gauke
[holding answer 5 April 2011]: Treasury Ministers receive advice from HM Treasury and HMRC officials on the range of tax policy issues. This includes advice on risks to the Exchequer from tax avoidance
26 Apr 2011 : Column 331W
and how they might be addressed. Ministers also receive representations from representative bodies, businesses, trade associations and individuals.
As was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he made of the level of attrition into new avoidance schemes in calculating the revenue he estimates will accrue from the disguised remuneration avoidance measure announced in the 2011 Budget for each year from 2011-12 to 2015-16. [51538]
Mr Gauke: The assumptions and methodologies underlying the costing for the disguised remuneration measure are set out at page 46 of Budget 2011 policy costings, published alongside the Budget:
http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_policycostings.pdf
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely change in the level of research and development activity which will result from the tax credit rate increase for small and medium-sized enterprises announced in the 2011 Budget. [51545]
Mr Gauke: The policy costing published at Budget assumed that for every pound of tax revenue foregone, caused by raising the rate of research and development (R&D) tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises, one extra pound would be spent on R&D. The increase in R&D expenditure is expected to be around £20 million to £30 million per annum.
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2011budget_policycostings.pdf
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the deadweight cost of the change in the rate of the research and development tax credit for small and medium-sized enterprises announced in the 2011 Budget. [51539]
Mr Gauke: Estimates of the Exchequer impact of raising the rate of research and development (R&D) tax relief for small and medium-sized enterprises were published at Budget in the policy costings’ document available at
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/2011budget_policycostings.pdf
The published static costing is the Exchequer impact with no increase in the forecasted expenditure on R&D as a result of the measure.
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to paragraph 2.195 of the 2011 Budget, if he will make it his policy not to bring within the scope of the taxation system incapacitated persons who are not taxed at present. [51829]
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Mr Gauke: As announced at Budget, we are about to consult formally on modernising the definition of incapacitated persons used for direct tax purposes. This definition is used mainly to identify who is responsible for meeting tax obligations under the income tax self assessment system where a person is mentally incapable of doing so. This consultation proposes changes to the language that defines how those persons are defined for this purpose, while keeping the scope of those covered by the definition the same as now. The document will not propose any changes to the scope of taxation itself.
Mr Hanson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of revenue which will accrue to the Exchequer from changes in non-domiciled taxation announced in the 2011 Budget. [51541]
Mr Gauke: I refer the right hon. Gentleman to the “Taxation of Non-Domiciles” section of the Budget 2011 Policy Costings document which is published on the HM Treasury website at the following address
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/2011budget_policycostings.htm
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the likely change in the level of carbon dioxide emissions attributable to the tax on carbon proposed in the 2011 Budget in each year from 2013-14 to 2019-20. [51983]
Justine Greening: The impact of the carbon price floor on the level of carbon dioxide emissions in the UK is set out in the Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the Budget. This is available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6111.pdf
Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the proportion of his proposed carbon tax which will be passed on to (a) electricity consumers, (b) electricity generating businesses and (c) other groups. [52145]
Justine Greening: An explanation of the impact of the carbon price floor on wholesale electricity prices is set out in HMRC's Tax Information and Impact Note published alongside the Budget. This is available online at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2011/tiin6111.pdf
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will assess the effects of the differential in price between diesel and unleaded petrol on the economic growth potential of the UK; and if he will consider the merits of using the tax and duty regime to equalise the price at the pump of diesel and unleaded petrol. [50870]
Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 30 March 2011, Official Report, column 365W, to the hon. Member for Midlothian (Mr Hamilton).
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The price difference between petrol and diesel varies over time and is determined by market forces. A neutral excise duty treatment of diesel and petrol supports market transparency. The Chancellor keeps all taxes under review.
Ms Angela Eagle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his Department’s most recent estimate is of the likely cost to the public purse of pensions tax relief in (a) 2011-12, (b) 2012-13, (c) 2013-14 and (d) 2014-15. [52252]
Mr Gauke: There are a number of ways in which pensions tax relief can be received, including from contributions and investment income of funds.
The estimated cost of the various tax reliefs relating to pensions are published by HM Revenue and Customs on their website and can be found at
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/pensions/table7-9.pdf
The estimated cost of each of these reliefs in future years is not available.
Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the level of unemployment in (a) the UK, (b) each region of England, (c) Scotland, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland of the increases in duty under the beer duty escalator. [51547]
Justine Greening: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies) on 16 March 2011, Official Report, column 379-81W.
Mr Evennett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people in (a) Bexleyheath and Crayford constituency, (b) the London borough of Bexley and (c) London have received demands for unpaid tax from HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months. [50399]
Mr Gauke: The information is not available at constituency or regional level.
Tessa Munt: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations he has received on the application of HM Revenue and Customs rules to value added tax on bartering transactions in respect of the gifting of energy provided from photovoltaic installations; and if he will make a statement. [50711]
Mr Gauke: The Government have received no representations on this matter. HM Revenue and Customs has already issued guidance on the treatment for VAT purposes of income received by property owners through the generation and export tariffs, and it is discussing with various interested parties the position where this income instead accrues to companies installing photovoltaic panels.
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Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on ending the charging of value added tax on payments of Government grants to sports clubs; and what assessment he has made of such representations. [51211]
Mr Gauke: The Government have not received any representations on this matter. In general Government grants do not represent payment for any services supplied to the Government and thus no VAT is due on them.
Grant income may, of course, be used to purchase goods and services on which VAT is borne. The expectation is that the bid for the grant will reflect this.
Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on exempting community amateur sports clubs from value added tax on capital expenditure. [51220]
Mr Gauke: The Government have not received any representations on this matter. Many amateur sports clubs have been able to register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) as Community Amateur Sports Clubs (CASCs) and benefit from a range of tax reliefs, similar to the tax reliefs normally given to charities. These reliefs include exemption from corporation tax on interest, on trading income and income from property (within limits) and capital gains tax on disposals of assets. There are a number of specific VAT reliefs for charities including the construction of certain buildings. Unfortunately, there are no equivalent VAT reliefs for CASCs. The application of VAT reliefs is governed by European agreements that have been signed by successive governments. Under these agreements, we cannot extend or introduce new zero rates to cover supplies to CASCs.
Ian Austin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on measures to end the charging of value added tax on construction costs for all schools which open sports facilities out of hours; and what assessment he has made of such representations. [51212]
Mr Gauke: The Government have not received any representations on this matter. The construction of school buildings can qualify for the zero rate of VAT if they are intended to be used by charities at least 95% for non business purposes.
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer over what period he plans the funds he provided in the 2011 Budget to apply to reduce water charges in the South West to be disbursed to South West water bill payers. [50463]
Richard Benyon: I have been asked to reply.
The Government pledged in the Budget that we will consult on proposals to support households which face water affordability pressures, and those in areas with particularly high water bills, such as the south-west.
We will provide more details on the support that will be provided following this consultation.
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Mr Crausby: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what factors he took into account when making the decision to reduce the level of winter fuel allowance paid to those over 75 years; [50440]
(2) for what reasons the annual winter fuel payment for people over 80 is to be reduced from £400 to £300; and if he will make a statement. [50685]
Justine Greening: As set out in the spending review, winter fuel payments will continue as budgeted for by the previous Government. Winter fuel payments from winter 2011-12 will be worth £200 for pensioner households, or £300 for households with someone aged over 80.
The spending review also announced that cold weather payments have been permanently increased to £25 a week during periods of very cold weather. The lowest income pensioner households will also be among those benefiting from the warm home discount on their electricity bill.
Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what savings he expects to accrue to the Exchequer as a result of his decision to reduce the level of winter fuel allowance in each of the next five years. [50986]
Steve Webb: I have been asked to reply.
Winter fuel payments for winter 2011-12 will be £200 for households with someone who has reached women’s state pension age and is under 80 and £300 for households with someone aged 80 or over. This return to the standard rates of winter fuel payment is exactly as budgeted for by the previous Government. It does not, therefore, represent a saving to the Exchequer.
An additional temporary amount of winter fuel payment was paid for the last three winters, taking the rates to £250 for households with someone who had reached women’s state pension age and was under 80 and £400 for households with someone aged 80 or over.
Figures in the following table show the estimated difference between forecasted expenditure of winter fuel payments at the standard rates compared to if they were continued at the higher temporary rates over the next five years. As noted above, this difference is not a saving to the Exchequer, compared with previous plans.
| £ million, cash terms | |||||
|
|
2011-12 | 2012-13 | 2013-14 | 2014-15 | 2015-16 |
| Notes: 1. Figures are in cash terms rounded to the nearest £10 million. 2. Difference is estimated based on unrounded figures and then rounded to the nearest £10 million. Therefore they may differ from the difference between the rounded figures available in the table. 3. Figures include winter fuel payments made to eligible recipients now resident in European economic area countries or Switzerland. | |||||
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Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what contracts the Forensic Science Service has been awarded in each of the last three years. [50011]
James Brokenshire: The Forensic Science Service (FSS) have provided details of contracts they have been awarded in the last three years.
1. South West, North West and Wales region all services tender—all services:
The SW, NW and Wales contract was for initial three years and has since been extended to 31 March 2013. The FSS was awarded part of this tender alongside five other providers.
The FSS won the drugs, fingerprints and tachographs work. Three year contract.
3. National Forensic Framework Agreement (NFFA)—all services:
FSS was awarded a place on the framework for each of the 14 lots.
2008 contract was initially awarded to another supplier but later awarded to the FSS. Contract was signed for six months in March 2009, but still ongoing.
5. West Midlands Region (West Midlands, Staffordshire, West Mercia and Warwickshire)—DNA and Drugs:
Awarded March 2009 DNA Contract. Three year contract.
6. Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC)—Homicide and Violent:
Awarded May 2009 Lot 7 of the National Framework for Homicide and Violent Crime.
7. Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)—Specialist DNA services:
Awarded October 2009 for initial period of one year to be extended in periods of one year.
8. NPIA—Environmental Monitoring of CAS Sample Preparation Room:
Awarded December 2009
Awarded December 2009.
10. East Midlands Region (Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire)—all services:
Awarded May 2010 to supply all services for region relating to NFFA Lot 8 Sexual Offences and Lot 11—Road Traffic Investigation.
Awarded place on E-Forensics Framework December 2010 along with multiple other suppliers—awaiting contracts.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Forensic Science Service spent on research and development in each of the last three years. [50010]
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James Brokenshire: Information provided by the Forensic Science Service (FSS) suggests that operating costs of their Research and Development Group were £4.01 million and £4.11 million for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 financial years respectively. The most recent estimate received from the company for the 2010-11 financial year shows operating costs for the Research and Development Group of £3.3 million.
Nick Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average annual number of deaths which will be avoided through implementation of her proposals for a minimum price for alcohol. [51312]
James Brokenshire: The Home Office is currently analysing the impact of the ban on the sale of alcohol below the cost of duty plus VAT. This analysis seeks to incorporate recent HM Revenue and Customs estimates of the responsiveness of demand to price and the Sheffield Alcohol Policy Model analysis of the associated social harms. It will inform an estimate on the average annual number of deaths avoided. These data will be published as part of an impact assessment to accompany legislation on the ban.
Mr Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what legal advice she has received on the introduction of a minimum unit price for alcohol within a local authority area. [52156]
James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department has received legal advice on a range of issues pertaining to alcohol pricing, including the effect of introducing a minimum price per unit of alcohol within a local authority area. The content of legal advice is subject to legal professional privilege and it is not appropriate to set it out at this stage other than in terms of the areas to which it relates.
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Mr Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the use of monkeys for experimental purposes in laboratories. [52027]
Lynne Featherstone: The Government recognizes that many people have a particular concern about the use of non-human primates. Under the terms of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 they, together with some other species, are given special protection and can only be used where animals of no other species are suitable.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 there have been in respect of (a) noise, (b) graffiti and fly posting and (c) waste and litter in each (i) local authority and (ii) police authority basic command unit in each region of England and Wales since January 2008. [52387]
Mr Blunt: I have been asked to reply.
Defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for criminal offences of waste disposal, littering and noise, are likely to be proceeded against under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and the Noise Act 1996. The number of defendants proceeded against under these statutes, by Government office region and police force area, England and Wales 2008 and 2009 (latest available) can be viewed in tables 1 and 2. It is not possible to identify separately offences of graffiti and fly-posting from other criminal damage offences.
Court proceedings data held centrally are not available at local authority or police authority basic command unit level.
Court proceedings data for 2010 are planned for publication on 26 May 2011.
| Table 1: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for waste disposal, littering and noise offences, by Government office region and police force area, England and Wales, 2008 (1,2,3,4) | |||||
| 2008 | |||||
| Area | Environmental Protection Act 1990 s .33(8) | Environmental Protection Act 1990 s .33(9) | Env ironmental Protection Act 1990 s .33(6) | Env ironmental Protection Act 1990 s.87, 93 and 94 | Noise Act 1996 |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 339W
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26 Apr 2011 : Column 341W
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| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Excludes data for Cardiff magistrates court for April, July and August 2008. Corresponding offence descriptions for statutes are as follows: Environmental Protection Act 1990: s.33(8) Depositing, causing the deposition or permitting the deposition, treating, keeping or disposing of controlled (but not special) waste in or on land without a licence; s.33(9) Depositing, causing the deposition or permitting the deposition of controlled special waste in or on land without a licence; s.33(6) Contravening conditions of a waste management licence; s.87 Deposit litter; s.93 and 94 Failure to comply with Street Litter Control Notice. Noise Act 1996: Responsible for noise exceeding prescribed level from premises after service of notice. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | |||||
| Table 2: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for waste disposal, littering and noise offences, by Government office region and police force area, England and Wales, 2009 (1,2) | |||||
| 2009 | |||||
|
|
Environmental Protection Act 1990 s .33(8) | Environmental Protection Act 1990 s .33(9) | Environmental Protection Act 1990 s .33(6) | Environmental Protection Act 1990 s.87, 93 and 94 | Noise Act 1996 |
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| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) Corresponding offence descriptions for statutes are as follows: Environmental Protection Act 1990: s.33(8) Depositing, causing the deposition or permitting the deposition, treating, keeping or disposing of controlled (but not special) waste in or on land without a licence; s.33(9) Depositing, causing the deposition or permitting the deposition of controlled special waste in or on land without a licence; s.33(6) Contravening conditions of a waste management licence; s.87 Deposit litter; s.93 and 94 Failure to comply with Street Litter Control Notice. Noise Act 1996: Responsible for noise exceeding prescribed level from premises after service of notice. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice. | |||||
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the deadline is for completion of the asylum legacy caseload by the UK Border Agency. [52123]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency provides regular updates on performance of the “legacy” cases, including a breakdown into grants, removals and “other” cases such as duplicates or errors, to the Home Affairs Select Committee.
On 2 March, the Agency reported to the Home Affairs Select Committee that it had concluded over 403,000 cases as at 31 January 2011.
The UK Border Agency has nearly completed its review of all outstanding “legacy” cases that have not yet been concluded on 31 March. It remains on track to conclude the legacy backlog by summer 2011.
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of recent trends in the level of burglary offences in (a) Gloucestershire and (b) England and Wales; and if she will make a statement. [51793]
James Brokenshire: Recent annual trends show that the total offences of burglaries recorded by Gloucestershire police decreased by 5%, from 5,823 offences in 2008-09 to 5,525 offences in 2009-10.
For the component burglary offences, the force recorded a 7% increase in burglary in a dwelling (2,292 in 2008-09 and 2,453 in 2009-10).
Gloucestershire police also recorded 3,072 offences of burglary in a building other than a dwelling in 2009-10, a 13% decrease from the previous year total of 3,531 offences.
Figures for England and Wales show that total burglaries recorded by the police fell by 7%, 581,577 in 2008-09 to 540,655 in 2009-10. Burglary in a dwelling fell by 6% from 284,440 to 268,595 in the years 2008-09 and 2009-10 respectively. Offences of burglary in a building other than a dwelling decreased by 8% from 297,137 in 2008-09 to 272,060 offences in 2009-10.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what process was used to assess child labour in the UK prior to making the Government's report to the International Labour Organisation under ILO Convention 182. [51634]
Damian Green: A number of reviews and threat assessments are currently available and used to inform our understanding of the threat and extent of child labour and exploitation issues, including child trafficking, within the UK. The most recent strategic threat assessment produced by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP) published in 2010 provides an update on the extent of child abuse, trafficking and exploitation within the UK.
At the time of the previous Government's report on the International Labour Organisation Convention 182 in 2009, CEOP had produced their first strategic threat assessment of the extent of child trafficking within the UK. This was available and used to inform the Government's report together with other sources of available information including the National Referral Mechanism.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with representatives of non-governmental organisations on the Government’s obligations under International Labour Organisation Convention 182. [51640]
Damian Green: The UK Government are strongly committed to tackling the worst forms of child labour contained in the International Labour Organisation Convention 182; including child trafficking, child sexual exploitation and prostitution.
26 Apr 2011 : Column 347W
While no recent discussions have been held with non-governmental organisations on the International Labour Organisation Convention 182 itself, the Government are currently developing a new human trafficking strategy which will bring an increased focus on the countries from which children are trafficked and therefore help to prevent children becoming victims of child trafficking and exploitation in the UK. Engagement with non-governmental organisations is a key part of this process.
The Department is also working closely with NGOs to identify the range of models and approaches for responding to prostitution within England and Wales.
The aims of this group include producing local guidance which will cover the local response to children sexually exploited through prostitution.
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with representatives of industry on ensuring that child labour is not used during the preparation and manufacture of goods. [51641]
Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department has had no recent discussions with representatives of industry about the use of child labour in the preparation and manufacture of goods. However, the UK Government are committed to the elimination of child labour exploitation and through a number of projects and initiatives in the UK and overseas such as the Ethical Trading Initiative or the Responsible and Accountable Garments Sector challenge fund and are working towards long-lasting changes that tackle the underlying poverty that is at the root of this problem.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with (a) the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe and (b) the Commissioner's office on immigration and migration matters since her appointment. [51961]
Damian Green: The Secretary of State for the Home Department has not had any discussions with the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, or with the Commissioner's office since her appointment.
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she has taken to ensure continuity of funding for organisations which were funded by the Community Fund for conflict resolution and which will now be expected to bid for resources under the Communities against Gangs, Guns and Knives Fund; which such organisations would have expected year three funding for existing projects under the Community Fund; for which such organisations funding under the Communities against Gangs, Guns and Knives Fund is not yet available; what interim arrangements have been put in place; and if she will make a statement. [50947]
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James Brokenshire: The application process for the Communities Against Gangs, Guns and Knives Fund opened on 25 March 2011. The Fund will provide £4 million to voluntary and community sector organisations working across England and Wales to reduce gang, gun and knife related violence by young people over the next two years. The new fund provides £0.5 million more per year than the Community Fund and is open to organisations based in any part of England and Wales, rather than just the 10 areas covered by the Tackling Knives Action Programme in 2008.
The criteria for the fund are focused on organisations working with young people at risk of involvement in gang, gun and knife crime or to support those who are already involved to leave that lifestyle. Organisations supported by the Community Fund will be eligible to bid for the new fund for two years’ funding. Those with a proven track record will be well placed to meet the criteria. Each successful organisation will receive grants of £10,000 each per year. Existing Community Fund recipients and other interested voluntary and community based organisations have been asked to lodge their applications by the closing date of 15 April 2011.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of people whose details are recorded on the Criminal Records Bureau database have not been charged, convicted of or otherwise received a penalty or sanction in relation to a criminal offence; and how many such people are aged 16 years or under. [52312]
Lynne Featherstone: The Criminal Records Bureau CRB database contains details of people who have made applications for criminal record certificates. It does not contain details of people who have been charged or convicted of a criminal offence as these details are held by the police on the Police National Computer (PNC).
In processing applications for criminal records certificates, the CRB has access to records held by the police and other data sources.
The overwhelming majority of CRB checks are clear. The following table illustrates the number and proportion of people in each of the last five years who have received CRB certificates that do not disclose details of convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings. A further table shows the position for those who are aged 16 years or under during the same period:
| All applications | ||||
|
|
Total dispatch volumes | PNC match | No PNC match | Percentage of total applications with no PNC match |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 349W
| Under 17 | ||||
|
|
Total dispatch volumes | PNC match | No PNC match | Percentage of total volumes for under 17 applications with no match |
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of her Department since her appointment. [51993]
Damian Green: No ministerial directions have been issued to the accounting officer of the Home Department since the appointment of the current Secretary of State for the Home Department.
Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the change in the (a) volume and (b) monetary value of services provided by her Department which have been contracted out to (i) the third sector and (ii) the private sector between January 2005 and December 2010. [48164]
Damian Green: The data needed to provide a comparison could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date (a) she and (b) each other Minister in her Department last used a ministerial car while travelling in an official capacity; and how many times (i) she and (ii) each other Minister in her Department has travelled to their constituency in a ministerial car since May 2010. [50196]
Damian Green: Section 10 of the Ministerial Code provides guidance on travel for Ministers and makes clear that Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements. Two cars have been allocated for ministerial use, one of which is provided by the Metropolitan police for the Secretary of State for the Home Department. Other Ministers use ministerial cars according to business need.
As at 30 March 2011, Home Office Ministers last used a ministerial car while travelling in an official capacity on the following occasions:
Nick Herbert—16 February 2011
Damian Green—29 March 2011
James Brokenshire—29 March 2011
Lynne Featherstone—29 March 2011
Baroness Neville-Jones—30 March 2011
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Information relating to how many times Home Office Ministers have travelled to their constituency in a ministerial car since May 2010 could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Simon Kirby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many civil servants in her Department have been offered voluntary redundancy since April 2010; and if she will make a statement. [49188]
Damian Green: Since April 2010 the Home Office has offered no staff “voluntary redundancy” as defined by the new Civil Service Compensation scheme. The Department ran a voluntary early release scheme in autumn 2010 from which 1,150 people have left.
Further to this, the Home Office launched a voluntary exit scheme in January 2011. This is still partway through its administration, with exits taking place between 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2012. So far, over 360 people have left the Department.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her latest estimate is of the cost of removing records from the National DNA Database following implementation of proposals for such removal. [50103]
James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to the impact assessment produced for the Protection of Freedoms Bill, which can be found on Home Office website
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/about-us/legislation/freedom-bill/dna-fingerprints-ia?view=Binary
and has been placed in the House Libraries.
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate she has made of the number of people who have not been charged with a crime whose DNA records on the National DNA Database were added by Surrey police. [51870]
James Brokenshire: This information is not held centrally.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals in each police force area have records on the National DNA Database. [52316]
James Brokenshire: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Brigg and Goole (Andrew Percy) on 3 March 2011, Official Report, columns 539-40W.
Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what amendments the UK has (a) proposed and (b) supported in the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers on the draft Convention on Prevention and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence; and if she will make a statement. [51235]
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Lynne Featherstone: The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has not itself discussed the substantive provisions of the draft convention on prevention and combating violence against women and domestic violence. However, during negotiations at official level we have made it clear that we are keen to see the adoption of a strong convention that will protect and promote human rights worldwide. We are not convinced that the convention as currently drafted achieves those aims, and discussions continue in other meetings with our Council of Europe partners on how our concerns may be best addressed.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will estimate the number of police officers who are assigned to work on (a) sexual violence and (b) domestic violence cases. [51288]
Lynne Featherstone: This information is not available centrally. Individual police forces assign officers to particular case types according to operational need.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funding she plans to allocate to new positions supporting women who are victims of domestic or sexual violence in the next four years. [51289]
Lynne Featherstone: In the Government’s strategic vision to end violence against women and girls, published in November 2010, we committed £28 million of Home Office funding for specialist services on a stable basis over the next four years. This money will be used to improve the response to rape and domestic violence, provide more training and early intervention programmes, introduce new powers and provide better support for victims. As part of this commitment, we have almost doubled the number of Home Office funded Independent Sexual Violence Advisors from 44 to 87. For domestic violence the funding will be used to contribute to existing and new Independent Domestic Violence Adviser and Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences Co-ordinator posts. There will also be continued funding for the National Domestic Violence Helpline, Men’s Advice Line and Broken Rainbow helpline. Separate funding has also been allocated to continue and enhance support provided by the Sojourner Project during 2011-12.
In addition, the Ministry of Justice recently announced the provision over the next three years of up to £10.5 million in grant funding for existing rape support centres. Also, in the first phase of a wider programme of work to develop new rape support centres where there are gaps in provision, up to £600,000 in funding will be provided over the next 12 months to develop new centres in Hereford, Trafford, Devon and Dorset.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the adequacy of provision of multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators or equivalent positions. [51290]
Lynne Featherstone:
A recent Home Office review of multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators (MARACs) commissioned as part of the Government's broader strategy on ending violence against women and
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girls has looked at a range of issues around how MARACs currently operate. The review is due to be published in the summer.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many independent (a) sexual violence advisers, (b) domestic violence advisers and (c) multi-agency risk assessment conference co-ordinators or equivalent positions were in post on the most recent date for which figures are available; and in which regions they are located. [51291]
Lynne Featherstone: Since independent sexual violence advisors (ISVAs), independent domestic violence advisers (IDVAs) and multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC) co-ordinators are employed and funded by a range of local organisations it is not possible to provide an overall total for any of these categories. In 2011-12 the Home Office will be contributing funding towards 87 ISVA posts, over 50 MARAC co-ordinator posts and over 135 IDVA posts. The numbers for the MARAC co-ordinator posts and IDVA posts will be confirmed once the notification process has been completed.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications her Department has received for funding for multi-agency risk assessment conference coordinators since her appointment; how many groups made applications; and from which regions these applications came. [51293]
Lynne Featherstone: We received over 120 applications for multi-agency risk assessment conference coordinator (MARAC) funding from over 100 organisations (statutory and voluntary).
Applications were received from London and the following regions: East, South West, South East, Wales, North West, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications her Department has received for funding for independent domestic violence advisers since her appointment; how many groups made applications; and from which regions these applications came. [51294]
Lynne Featherstone: We received over 230 applications for independent domestic violence adviser (IDVA) funding from over 200 organisations (statutory and voluntary).
Applications were received from London and the following regions: East, South West, South East, Wales, North West, North East, West Midlands, East Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.
Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers she plans to give the Electoral Commission in relation to the funding of election campaigns by (a) political party and (b) independent candidates for posts of police and crime commissioner in England and Wales. [51169]
Nick Herbert:
The Government are working closely with the Electoral Commission, representatives of local government and others to draw up the regulations that
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will set out this role. Subject to the will of Parliament, they will be issued following Royal Assent to the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill.
Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent change she has made to the evidential requirements for grant of a visa for entry to the UK from Pakistan. [51696]
Damian Green: In October 2010, in response to the Independent Chief Inspector's report on the UK Border Agency's visa operation in Abu Dhabi and Islamabad, the Agency published new guidance on its website:
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/visas
regarding the documentation that it recommends should be submitted in support of applications in each of the main visa categories. The guidance applies globally and is not specific to applications lodged in Pakistan. There has, however, been no change in the evidential requirements for visa applications submitted in Pakistan or elsewhere. As always, it is the applicant’s responsibility to demonstrate that they meet the requirements of the Immigration Rules for entry in a particular category, and to provide appropriate supporting documentation.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for which offences fixed penalty notices may be imposed by the police; and what guidance has been issued by her Department on circumstances in which such notices may be imposed. [52308]
James Brokenshire: Most fixed penalties are offered for motoring offences. The Secretary of State can provide for any offence in respect of a vehicle to be a fixed penalty offence. Schedule 3 to the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 lists the offences for which a fixed penalty can currently be offered. Guidance on the operation of the fixed penalty system was last issued in 2006 and is available on the National Archives website at:
http://tna.europarchive.org/20100419081706/http://www.police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/HO_00395_GFinalVersion006f.html?view=Standard&pubID=332084
Penalty notices for disorder (PNDs) are a type of fixed penalty designed to tackle low level, antisocial and nuisance offending. The list of offences covered by the scheme and police operational guidance is available on the Home Office website at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/police/penalty-notices
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans she has for the archives of the Forensic Science Service following the closure of that body. [51809]
James Brokenshire:
We recognize the importance of the Forensic Science Service (FSS) archives, both in academic terms and in the investigation of re-opened cases (or ‘cold cases’ as they are sometimes called). The Home Office is working closely with FSS, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and colleagues across
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the Criminal Justice System (CJS) to agree a suitable process for the handling and retention of FSS records so that historical data remain available to the CJS.
As part of this process we will also seek to ensure the necessary expertise exists to use this resource to best effect for the CJS.
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to ensure that expertise in (a) hair comparison, (b) fibre analysis and (c) other little-used examinations is maintained following the winding down of the Forensic Science Service. [51810]
James Brokenshire: We are committed to ensuring the police and the Criminal Justice System (CJS) as a whole have the forensics capability they need to do their jobs effectively. We are currently reviewing the Forensic Science Service (FSS) functions as part of the process of managed closure, including identifying whether there are any needs which cannot be met by the forensics market. A great deal of expertise already exists within private sector providers, and it is our intention that valuable capability in the FSS, including staff, might transition to other providers as part of the managed closure.
Stephen Barclay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to support research and development in forensic science. [51811]
James Brokenshire: We are carefully examining ways in which innovation and research in forensic science can flourish to build on existing expertise and continue the innovation for which the UK has become globally renowned.
Alongside this work, we recently commissioned the Home Office chief scientific adviser, Professor Bernard Silverman to carry out a review of how research and development in forensic science is developed in the UK. The review has been consulting widely with forensic service providers, academia, research funders and international forensic science networks. The review is also working closely with the National Policing Improvement Agency and police service customers to understand their view of forensic science requirements for policing.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many homicides there were in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) Brighton and Hove where there was no finding of guilt because the perpetrator committed suicide in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [52226]
James Brokenshire: Available data are collected by the Home Office from police forces in England and Wales, including British Transport Police (BTP) where the offence was committed within England or Wales, and have been extracted from the Homicide Index.
A breakdown for the years 2005-06 to 2009-10 showing the number recorded by forces in England, Wales and by BTP is shown in the following table. Save in respect of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, it is not possible
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to show where offences recorded by the BTP were committed. Data specifically about Brighton and Hove could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
| Offences (1) currently recorded by the police as homicide where suspect committed suicide: England and Wales, 2005-06 to 2009-10 (2) | |||
| Number of offences | |||
|
|
England | Wales | BTP (3) |
| (1) As at 28 September 2010; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available. (2) Offences are shown according to the year in which they were initially recorded as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (3) Offences recorded by British Transport Police. It is not possible to show where in England or Wales these offences were committed. (4) Includes 52 victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings; 13 recorded by the Metropolitan Police Service (included within ‘England’ category), 39 by BTP. | |||
The total number of offences recorded as homicide between 1999-2000 and 2009-10 for which court proceedings were either not initiated or were not concluded because the person suspected of being responsible for the death had committed suicide is shown in Table 1.02 of the most recent homicide chapter, which can be found online at:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/crime-research/hosb0111/hosb0111-supp?view=Binary
Data are as at 28 September 2010 and subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and by the courts, or as further information becomes available.
The collection of homicide data for Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many homicides there were in (a) England, (b) Wales, (c) Scotland, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) Brighton and Hove where more than one family member was killed in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement. [52227]
James Brokenshire: The homicide index database for England and Wales provides data on the victim's relationship to the principal suspect. In incidents involving more than one victim, the database does not hold information on the relationship between victims.
Information on the number of homicides where more than one family member was killed would require an inspection of the details of individual records and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The collection of homicide data for Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved Administrations.
Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to reduce the length of time between the arrest of a person suspected of a human trafficking offence and the court hearing; and if she will make a statement. [50432]
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Damian Green: The Government are committed to reducing the length of time between arrest and court hearing as much as possible. The Criminal Procedure Rules (CPR) govern the practice and procedure of the criminal courts and give the courts explicit powers to manage actively the preparation of criminal cases to prevent unfair and unavoidable delays, and promote certainty about what is happening for the benefit of everyone involved.
Mr Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many convictions there were for offences of human trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 in (a) 2009 and (b) 2010. [13433]
Damian Green: Statistics held by the UK Human Trafficking Centre show that there have been 33 convictions for trafficking for sexual exploitation in 2009 and 17 convictions in 2010.
There are 65 cases still pending that arise from arrests in 2009 and 2010.
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who is conducting the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of employees of Liverpool Passport Office on 21 March 2011; and whether the results of the investigation will be published. [51807]
Damian Green: The investigation is being conducted internally and is nearing completion. The report of the investigation will be shared with the individuals concerned, the PCS union and interested Members of Parliament.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on steps to combat illegal migration. [50401]
Damian Green: The matter is discussed on an ongoing basis as part of regular meetings between UK Border Agency officials and officials from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on steps to combat illegal migration. [50403]
Damian Green: The matter is discussed on an ongoing basis as part of regular meetings between UK Border Agency officials and the Welsh Assembly Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, and Welsh Assembly Government officials.
Keith Vaz:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost to the public purse of the arrest, detention and removal of an individual detained
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under immigration rules was in the latest period for which figures are available. [51834]
Damian Green: It is not currently possible to calculate an average cost for an arrest without incurring disproportionate cost, as the necessary information is not available in the required format.
We estimate that detention costs, on average, £110 per night—length of detention will vary according to the individual.
The National Audit Office (NAO) report “Management of Asylum Applications by the UK Border Agency”, published on 23 January 2009 and available to view at:
http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/0809/management_of_asylum_appl.aspx
provides a range of upper and lower-end cost estimates for people who are detained or removed in different circumstances (for example, for a single undetained adult who is removed after exhausting his/her appeal rights, the process will cost between £7,900 and £17,000 excluding accommodation and support costs, and between £12,000 and £25,600 including accommodation and support costs). A copy of this report is available in the House Library.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were arrested for immigration offences when reporting to an immigration centre in the latest period for which figures are available. [51859]
Damian Green: The number of people arrested when reporting in the last calendar year (2010) was 1,532.
These figures are provisional, based on management information, not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics and may be subject to change.
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on the removal from the UK of individuals whose spouses are British citizens; and if she will make a statement. [51857]
Damian Green: Before making a decision to remove an individual whose spouse is a British citizen, the UK Border Agency will consider the case in line with article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to a private and/or family life) and paragraph 395c of the immigration rules (age, length of residence, strength of connections, domestic circumstances, compassionate circumstances, any representations).
Each case will be considered on its individual merits.
Chapter 53 of the Enforcement Instructions and Guidance sets out the extenuating circumstances which are considered before an individual is removed.
www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/sitecontent/documents/policyandlaw/enforcement/detentionandremovals/
Priti Patel:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the effect on levels of immigration to the UK of the
26 Apr 2011 : Column 358W
provisions of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; and what steps she has taken in response to the inclusion in the 2011 workplan of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of the first priority identified in respect of the situation of irregular migrants in the EU. [52477]
Damian Green: The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights does not create new rights and does not give the European Court of Justice or national courts any new powers to strike down national laws and practices for breaching fundamental rights. Consequently the Government do not consider it likely that the Charter will affect levels of immigration to the UK.
The 2011 work plan of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights includes the completion of a first priority activity on the situation of irregular migrants which began in 2009. The purpose of the activity is to carry out research on welfare and fundamental rights issues affecting irregular migrants, to publish reports and to organise meetings with selected key stakeholders and decision makers at the national and European level.
The Government support completion of this activity so that the research findings will be published. Research reports by the Fundamental Rights Agency are published in order to assist member states and others in understanding the fundamental rights situation across the EU. Any recommendations made in these reports are not binding on member states.
Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many mobile knife scanners have been introduced into front line policing units since May 2010. [51649]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office does not hold the requested information. It is for chief constables and police authorities to decide on the equipment needed to deliver operational policing within their force area.
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether she has assessed the merits of introducing measures to ensure that community amateur sports clubs are not subject to the same licensing laws as commercial venues; [51136]
(2) whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport on the potential effects of licensing laws on sports clubs. [51217]
James Brokenshire: The Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) regularly holds discussions with her Cabinet colleagues, however, she has not had specific discussions with the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt) on the potential effects of alcohol licensing laws on sports clubs. The licensing arrangements for all venues that sell or supply alcohol have been considered as part of the proposals to overhaul the Licensing Act 2003 and are currently being taken forward in the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill.
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Tessa Jowell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Minister for Security and Counter-Terrorism plans to reply to the letter from the right hon. Member for Dulwich and West Norwood (Tessa Jowell) of 16 February 2011. [46423]
Nick Herbert: The Olympic and Paralympic Security Office for Security and Counter Terrorism wrote to the right hon. Member on 10 March 2011.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recruits to police forces in England and Wales in (a) 2008-09, (b) 2009-10 and (c) 2010-11 had university degrees. [48025]
Nick Herbert: The Home Office no longer collects data on the number of recruits who are graduates. However, according to Tom Winsor’s report: Independent Review of Police Officer and Staff Remuneration and Conditions, in 2010, 27% of police officer recruits were graduates.
| Table 1: Number of candidates and pass rates by academic attainment, England and Wales ; Exercise Suite November 2007 to October 2008 | ||||
|
|
Number of attendees | Percentage of all attendees | National success rate (percentage) | Number of national candidates successful |
| Table 2: Number of candidates and pass rates by academic attainment, England and Wales ; Exercise Suite November 2008 to October 2009 | ||||
|
|
Number of attendees | Percentage of all attendees | National success rate (percentage) | Number of national candidates successful |
| Table 3: Number of candidates and pass rates by academic attainment, England and Wales ; Exercise Suite November 2009 to December 2010 | ||||
|
|
Number of attendees | Percentage of all attendees | National success rate (percentage) | Number of national candidates successful |
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the percentage change in police numbers serving in each police force area in England and Wales has been since March 2010. [51891]
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Nick Herbert: The latest available data are provided in the following table which shows the number of police officers in each police force area as at March 2010. Figures for March 2011 will be available on 21 July 2011.
This information is also published in the “Police Service Strength in England and Wales, 30 September 2010” bulletin which can be seen from the following link:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/science-research-statistics/research-statistics/policeresearch/hosb0311/?view=Standard&publD=864093
| Police officer strength by police force area (full-time equivalents) (1) | ||||
| Police officers | ||||
| English Government Office Regions and Wales | FTE s trength as at: | Change in six months March 10 – September 2010 | ||
|
|
March 2010 | September 2010 | Number | Percentage |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 361W
| (1) This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. (2) The figure for the British Transport Police for March has been revised since it was last published. The revised figure is for officers in England and Wales only, and does not include figures for Scotland. | ||||
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average amount paid in overtime to police constables in each police force in England and Wales was in (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08, (c) 2008-09, (d) 2009-10 and (e) 2010-11. [48026]
Nick Herbert: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase (Mr Burley) on 28 February 2011, Official Report, columns 96-98W which provides information for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10. Data for 2010-11 are not yet available.
Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to the public purse was of overtime for (a) warranted officers and (b) civilian staff in each police force in England and Wales in each of the last three years. [48533]
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Nick Herbert [Holding answer 23 March 2011]:I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel) on 25 October 2010, Official Report, columns 79-84W.
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the average change in the net income for police officers in Wales and England in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [47364]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 17 March 2011]: There are several factors that are likely to affect the net income of police officers over the next two years. The Government's policy is to freeze the pay of public sector workers earning over £21,000 for two years. We would expect this to apply to police officers, but will take account of any recommendations from the Police Negotiating Board. We have also recently received the first part of Tom Winsor's review of remuneration and conditions of service for police officers and staff, published on 8 March 2011. This report contains a number of recommendations on police officer and staff pay. Before any of them could be implemented they would be subject to consideration by the police negotiating machinery. The Secretary of State for the Home Department said in her written statement of 31 March 2011, Official Report, columns 37-38WS, that she will direct the Police Negotiating Board and Police Advisory Board for England and Wales to consider the proposals that are within their respective remits for police officers in England and Wales. It would not be appropriate to pre-empt that consideration.
In response to Lord Hutton's interim report, the Government has also announced its intention to increase the employee contributions of public sector workers by, on average, around three percentage points. The proposed increase would be phased in over three years from April 2012. Any increase in the pension contributions for police officers would be subject to consultation with the Police Negotiating Board.
Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much it cost to assess a police constable candidate at each stage of assessment in the latest period for which figures are available. [52026]
Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has made an assessment of the number of police officers who will be made compulsorily redundant in each of the next three years; and if she will make a statement. [49201]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 28 March 2011]: There is no provision in legislation for making police officers redundant.
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Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) uniformed officers, (b) community support officers and (c) civilian staff have taken voluntary redundancy from Kent police in each month since May 2005. [51652]
Nick Herbert: There is no provision in regulations for police officers to take voluntary redundancy. For police community support officers and civilian staff, voluntary redundancy is a matter for individual forces. The Home Office does not collect figures specifically for this category of exit.
Ms Harman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are assigned to duties in the London borough of Southwark; and how many she expects there to be in (a) 2011-12 and (b) 2012-13. [47305]
Nick Herbert [holding answer 21 March 2011]: There were 964 police officers assigned to duties in the London borough of Southwark, as at 31 March 2010. This figure is based on full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number and includes officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave.
The number of police officers that are assigned duties in the London borough of Southwark for 2011-12 and 2012-13 are not yet available. It is for the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police to determine the number of police officers that are deployed in Southwark.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persistent and prolific offenders have been identified in each police force area in each of the last three years for which figures are available. [52467]
James Brokenshire: The number of offenders designated as prolific and other priority offenders through partnership arrangements in each police force area is set out in the following table. The data cover the last three years and are the most recent data available.
| Number of PPOs as registered on JTRACK caseload by police force area | |||
| Police force area | 1 April 2007 - 31 March 2008 | 1 April 2008 - 31 March 2009 | 1 April 2009 - 31 March 2010 |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 364W
| Source: JTRACK | |||
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department to which countries the Government does not forcibly repatriate individuals as a result of failed immigration or asylum applications. [51666]
Damian Green: All returns are considered on an individual basis, and we would not seek to remove someone who needs international protection. There is no country to which as a matter of policy we would not seek to enforce the return of those who do not need such protection.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been forcibly repatriated to Zimbabwe as a result of unsuccessful immigration applications since the relaxation of removal rules in respect of Zimbabwe. [51664]
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Damian Green: On 14 October 2010 I announced that the UK Border Agency would be resuming enforced returns of failed asylum seekers to Zimbabwe after the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (IAC) had issued its judgment in the case of EM and others. This judgement was promulgated on 11 March 2011.
As of 6 April 2011 there have been no enforced removals to Zimbabwe since the judgment was promulgated.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were voluntarily repatriated to Zimbabwe as a result of unsuccessful immigration applications in (a) 2008, (b) 2009 and (c) 2010. [51665]
Damian Green: There were 320 people that voluntarily returned to Zimbabwe in 2008, 316 people in 2009 and 370 people in 2010.
These figures are provisional, based on management information, not subject to the detailed checks that apply for National Statistics and may be subject to change.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications her Department has received for funding for independent sexual violence advisers since her appointment; how many groups made applications; and from which regions these applications came. [51292]
Lynne Featherstone: In the funding round 2011-12 to 2014-15, the Home Office received 146 applications for independent sexual violence adviser (ISVA) funding from 144 organisations. These applications came from all regions in England and from Wales. Grants were awarded to support 87 posts across all of the English regions and Wales. This represents a commitment of £1.72 million per annum over the spending review period.
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much funding her Department has allocated to funding each sexual assault referral centre in 2011-12; from which of her Department's budgets each such centre will be funded; and what the location is of each such centre. [51281]
Lynne Featherstone: The Secretary of State for the Home Department has committed to providing £1.72 million of funding per annum from the Department's crime prevention budget over the next four years to part-fund Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) posts. This includes 29 ISVAs working in Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs).
The following table provides details of the locations of the SARCs awarded Home Office ISVA funding in the period 2011-12 to 2014-15.
| Police force area | SARC name | ISVA posts funded in 2011-12 to 2014-15 |
26 Apr 2011 : Column 366W
Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health on (a) funding provided by primary care trusts (PCTs) for sexual assault referral centres (SARCs) and (b) future plans for funding SARCs following the abolition of PCTs. [51285]
Lynne Featherstone: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues from across Government on a wide range of issues relating to tackling violence against women and girls including services for victims of rape and sexual violence. Discussions are ongoing with the Department of Health on future local sexual assault referral centre (SARC) funding following the abolition of primary care trusts. From 2011 to 2015 the Home Office is part-funding 87 independent sexual violence adviser posts, of which 29 will be based in SARCs.
Mrs Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints the UK Border Agency has received from residents of St Albans constituency in each of the last six months. [52124]
Damian Green: The total number of complaints received by the UK Border Agency and recorded on the Complaints Management System from residents of St Albans postcode area in the last six months is seven. A breakdown by month is listed as follows:
Two received in March 2011
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One received in February 2011
One received in January 2011
Two received in December 2010
One received in October 2010
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff of the UK Border Agency received a salary of over £100,000 in the latest period for which figures are available. [51833]
Damian Green: The UK Border Agency is committed to being transparent and has published detail of the salaries of senior staff on the sites listed as follows. The data now in the public domain represent what we can provide while honouring the duty that we have to our staff under the Data Protection Act.
Please note that two of the 16 listed there, Lin Homer and Dee Bourke, have both left this organisation; new organisation charts and information on senior staff salaries will be published shortly.
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/our-organisation/our-structure/structure-salary/
The report headed “UK Border Agency: structure and salary reports” at the base of the page then select “Senior staff salaries—UK Border Agency” and that will provide the list of senior staff salaries.
Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded instances of (a) rape and (b) domestic violence there were in (i) England and Wales and (ii) each police force area in each year since 1997; and what the clear-up rate for each was in each such year. [52383]
Lynne Featherstone: These data are shown in the following tables.
Due to changes in recording practice, data on police recorded offences are not comparable across the period
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requested. The counting rules for recorded crime were revised in April 1998 and the coverage was expanded. Trends were also affected by the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard in April 2002, which required the police to record a crime unless there was “no credible evidence to the contrary”. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 in May 2004 also altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences, including rape.
Data on police recorded offences of rape for each year since 1997 by police force area are provided in Table A. Data on domestic violence incidents reported to the police have been collected by the Home Office since 2003-04 and the available data are provided in Table B. Some data have been estimated due to lack of provision of data from police forces. All estimated figures are indicated in the table. Data for earlier years are not available centrally.
Detection rates are a ratio of crimes detected in a period to crimes recorded in a period. They are not based on tracking whether individual crimes recorded in a period have eventually been detected.
In addition to the recorded crime revisions mentioned above, detection data trends have also been affected by additional changes. Revised guidance on detections was issued in April 1999 which formalised detection procedures, placing a greater emphasis on the evidential basis on which detections can be claimed.
From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very small limited set of circumstances. This has significantly reduced the number of non-sanction detections which has been reflected in the overall detection rates.
The Home Office carried out research published in July 2007 which found that the reduction in detection rates was likely to be largely due to changes in recording practices resulting from the introduction of the National Crime Recording Standard, counting rules and detections guidance (Feist et al, 2007).
Detection rates for rape offences are provided in Table C. Detection rates for domestic violence offences are not held centrally.
| Table A: Recorded rape offences (1, 2) by police force area, 1997 to 2009-10 | |||||||
| Area | 1997 (3) | 1998-99 (4) | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 (5, 6) | 2003-04 |
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| Area | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
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| n/a = Data not available. (1) The Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced in May 2004, altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences. (2) Prior to 2009-10, a small number of offences continued to be recorded relating to offences repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. While these may have been legitimately recorded for offences committed prior to May 2004 it is also possible that some may have been recorded in these old categories in error, so any changes based on small numbers should be interpreted with caution. (3) The number of crimes recorded in that calendar year using the coverage and rules in use until 31 March 1998. (4) The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised Counting Rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998. (5) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002, although some forces adopted NCRS practices before the standard was formally introduced. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. The introduction of NCRS led to a rise in recording in 2002/03 and, particularly for violent crime, in the following years as forces continued to improve compliance with the new standard. (6) Includes the British Transport Police from 2002-03 onwards. | ||||||
| Table B: Reported domestic violence offences by police force area, 2003-04 to 2009-10 (1) | |||||||
| Area | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
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| (1) All data are provisional and unverified with forces. (2) Data are estimated for non-response, based on ratios in other forces (e.g. domestic violence incidents; total violence against the person offences). | |||||||
| Table C: Detection rates (1) of rape offences (2) (, ) (3) by police force area, 1997 to 2009-10 | |||||||
| Area | 1997 (4) | 1998-99 (5) | 1999- 20 00 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 (6, 7) | 2003-04 |
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| Area | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 |
| n/a = Data not available. (1) Offences detected in the current year may have been initially recorded in an earlier year and for this reason some percentages may exceed 100. (2) The Sexual Offences Act 2003, introduced in May 2004, altered the definition and coverage of sexual offences. (3) Prior to 2009-10, a small number of offences continued to be recorded relating to offences repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 2003. While these may have been legitimately recorded for offences committed prior to May 2004 it is also possible that some may have been recorded in these old categories in error, so any changes based on small numbers should be interpreted with caution. (4) The number of crimes recorded in that calendar year using the coverage and rules in use until 31 March 1998. (5) The number of crimes recorded in that financial year using the expanded offence coverage and revised Counting Rules which came into effect on 1 April 1998. (6) The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced in April 2002, although some forces adopted NCRS practices before the standard was formally introduced. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable. The introduction of NCRS led to a rise in recording in 2002-03 and, particularly for violent crime, in the following years as forces continued to improve compliance with the new standard. (7) Includes the British Transport Police from 2002-03 onwards. (8) Data are not reported because the base number of offences is less than 50. | ||||||
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Mr Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pupils permanently excluded from school were convicted of a criminal offence in each police authority area in each of the last 10 years; and what the detection rate was for crimes committed by young offenders who (a) were and (b) were not permanently excluded from school in each such area in each such year. [52388]
James Brokenshire: The information requested is not collected centrally.
The Home Office is responsible for the collection of detections data. Data on detections held by the Home Office do not include information on whether offenders were excluded from school.
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the collection of convictions data.
Data held centrally on the Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database do not include information about the circumstances behind each case other than that which may be identified from a statute. It is not possible to separately identify young offenders who were permanently excluded from school from other offenders.
Mr Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd of 7 March 2011, Official Report, columns 862-63W, on police services, (1) whether the policing tasks associated with football matches are included in the policing functions she defines as those undertaken by frontline officers; [48004]
(2) whether warranted police officers working (a) in or (b) with (i) the Serious Organised Crime Agency, (ii) the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, (iii) the National Wildlife Crime Unit, (iv) the ACPO Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service and (v) public protection units perform tasks which fall within her definition of frontline policing; [48102]
(3) whether she includes the attendance of warranted police officers at community safety partnership meetings within the categories of activity carried out by frontline police officers. [49152]
Nick Herbert: HMIC’s report Demanding Times published on 30 March 2011 provides a definition of frontline, middle office and back office police functions.
“the police frontline comprises those who are in everyday contact with the public and who directly intervene to keep people safe and enforce the law”.
http://www.hmic.gov.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Thematics/THM_20110330.pdf
Full details of policing roles and their categorisation by frontline, middle office and back office appear on page 19 of the report.
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John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Ministers representing the Government of Anguilla have visited his Department in the last three years. [51889]
Mr Bellingham: The number of Ministers representing the Government of Anguilla visiting the Foreign and Commonwealth Office since 2008 are:
2008: two visits by two Ministers
2009: five visits by three Ministers
2010: four visits by three Ministers.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on offshore UK tax avoidance in Anguilla. [51888]
The UK has arrangements in place for information exchange on tax matters, including tax avoidance, with Anguilla.
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to report to Parliament on the outcomes of the review of UK arms export licensing to the Middle East and North Africa; if he will extend the scope of the review to include all exports to authoritarian regimes; what types of equipment are to be covered by the review; and by what means he plans to consult with (a) parliamentarians, (b) industry and (c) civil society on the content of the review. [51818]
Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has commissioned a review of Government policy and practice with regard to the export of equipment that might be used for internal repression, in particular crowd control goods. Although this review was originally commissioned in response to events in the Middle East and North Africa, any conclusions will apply to our procedures for arms exports to all countries. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is leading this internal review in close consultation with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Ministry of Defence. The Government will be reporting back on the review to Parliament after Easter. As the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 16 March 2011, any decisions arising from the review will be discussed in Parliament.
Mr Syms:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Hungarian presidency of the Council
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of Ministers on the accession process for Western Balkan states to join the EU. [50488]
Mr Bellingham: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs met Hungarian Foreign Minister, Janos Martonyi, on 7 December in London ahead of the start of the Hungarian EU presidency. They discussed a number of issues including the EU accession process for the countries of the Western Balkans. Both the UK and Hungary consider EU enlargement to all countries of the Western Balkans, on the basis of the accession criteria, as a key strategic priority for the European Union. The Foreign Secretary has since been in regular contact with Mr Martonyi, including at meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council and my right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe maintains a dialogue, including on enlargement, with his Hungarian counterpart.
Jackie Doyle-Price: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many British subjects were unlawfully killed overseas in each year since 1997. [45253]
Mr Bellingham: The following table shows the number of British nationals recorded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as having been murdered overseas since 2002. Prior to 2002 we used a different database which recorded only cases handled in London so would provide a partial picture.
| Calendar year | Number of cases |
Some of those unlawfully killed overseas may not have been recorded under this heading. As part of improving the support we provide to victims’ families, we are tightening our guidance to staff to ensure we are more consistent in how we compile statistics on the numbers of British citizens who die abroad and how they have died, including those who have been killed unlawfully. To determine these figures for past years would incur disproportionate cost.
John Mann:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department gave to (a) Bermuda, (b) the British Antarctic Territory, (c) the British Indian Ocean Territory, (d) the British Virgin Islands, (e) the Cayman Islands, (f) the Falkland Islands, (g) Gibraltar, (h) Montserrat, (i) Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno and Ducie Islands, (j) Saint Helena and its dependencies, (k) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, (l) the Turks and Caicos Islands and (m) the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia for economic diversification in
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the latest period for which figures are available; and from which funds. [52296]
Mr Bellingham: Overseas Territory governments are responsible for their territory's economies and any economic diversification. We are helping territories that are struggling economically to avoid unnecessary financial dependence on the UK. We also help territories that now rely on UK financial support to reduce their dependence and pursue the path towards economic sustainability.
The Department for International Development (DfID) provides funding towards the economic diversification of the poorer territories, currently St Helena, Montserrat and Pitcairn, through its wider programmes of financial assistance.
In 2009-10 DFID provided £22.7 million for St Helena; £20.8 million for Montserrat and £1.8 million for Pitcairn from its capital and programme budgets. Support for economic growth and sustainability is an important focus of Government assistance to the Governments of St Helena and Montserrat.
No funds have been made available specifically for economic diversification purposes to territories with no settled population, namely the British Indian Ocean Territory; the British Antarctic Territory or South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. In addition, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not provide funding for economic diversification to the Sovereign Base Areas which are military bases on the island of Cyprus and are administered by the Ministry of Defence.
The FCO provided £1.4 million from our Overseas Territories Programme Fund in 2010-11 to support reform in the Turks and Caicos Islands in a range of areas, including to promote economic diversification. DFID has put in place a guarantee to provide the Turks and Caicos Islands Government with access to a maximum capital amount of US$260 million over the next five years.
We have not provided funds specifically for economic diversification purposes to any of the other UK Overseas Territories in recent years.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representatives of the Administration of (a) the British Antarctic Territory, (b) the British Indian Ocean Territory, (c) Pitcairn, Henderson, Oeno and Ducie Islands, (d) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and (e) the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia have visited his Department's offices in London in each of the last three years. [52297]
Mr Bellingham: In respect of the British Antarctic Territory and British Indian Ocean Territory, relevant Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials act as representatives of the Administrations of the two territories. These officials are located at FCO offices in London.
For the Pitcairn Islands, one member of the Administration visited in 2008, one in 2009 and none in 2010.
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The FCO is usually visited by the Administration of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands at least twice each year. In 2010 the FCO received visits by three representatives.
The Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus are administered by the Ministry of Defence. The FCO does not keep records of visitors for other Government Departments.
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Ministers in the Government of (a) Bermuda, (b) the British Virgin Islands, (c) the Cayman Islands, (d) the Falkland Islands, (e) Gibraltar, (f) Montserrat, (g) Saint Helena and its dependencies and (h) the Turks and Caicos Islands have visited his Department's offices in London in each of the last three years. [52298]
Mr Bellingham: The number of visits to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office conducted by Ministers from the Overseas Territories over the last three calendar years can be broken down as follows. Multiple visits conducted over the course of a calendar year by individual Ministers have also been included.
|
|
2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| (1) Falkland Islands, St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha do not have Ministers. Visits by their elected representatives have been incorporated in the above table. (2 )Ministerial Government in the Turks and Caicos Islands was suspended on 14 August 2009. | |||
Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how often Government representatives raised issues relating to Burma in meetings of the UN Security Council in 2010. [51553]
Mr Jeremy Browne: As President of the UN Security Council during November 2010, the UK raised Burma in Security Council meetings on 5 November, 18 November and 22 November 2010. The UK also raised our concerns during UN Security Council meetings on 24 March 2011 and 6 December 2010, and British officials in New York speak to their international counterparts in the UN about Burma on a regular basis. Both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and the Prime Minister discussed the matter with the UN Secretary-General in November. The UK Government will continue to highlight the situation in Burma through all avenues in the UN, including through the Security Council, the General Assembly, the Human Rights Council and directly with the Secretary-General.
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Emma Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what objectives he has set for the outcome of discussions on a common position on sanctions against the Burmese Government at the next meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council. [51885]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The Government’s objective at the Foreign Affairs Council was to secure the renewal of tough but targeted EU restrictive measures that strengthened the position of Aung San Suu Kyi and other democratic opposition groups with the Burmese regime. On 12 April 2011 EU Foreign Ministers agreed to renew EU sanctions for a further 12 months.
1. An arms embargo.
2. An asset freeze and travel ban on the regime, its associates and their families with the measures suspended for a year for lifelong civilians and the Foreign Minister.
3. An investment ban on state and associate-owned enterprises.
4. Trade and investment bans on timber, precious metals and gems.
5. A ban on development assistance to central Government and in sectors other than humanitarian work.
While the measures remain tough, they are also in line with Aung San Suu Kyi’s wishes to promote a broad dialogue with the Government and other political groups both inside and outside Parliament to encourage a move towards more democratic institutions.
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken to promote children’s rights in the last 10 years; and what plans his Department has to promote such rights (a) in developing countries and (b) elsewhere. [51725]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The Government are committed to improving the situation of children worldwide. We work bilaterally, in multilateral forums, and fund programmes that are designed to promote and protect the rights of all children as set out in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its optional protocols.
Over the last decade the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has played an active role in promoting the rights of the child. We continue to work to ensure that international commitments are fully implemented, whether through making the UN and other international bodies more effective in their efforts to promote and protect child rights, or through various bilateral projects. We have also committed financial and political resources to tackling the issue of child soldiers. We will continue to take steps to safeguard children’s rights in countries affected by conflict.
Our embassies and high commissions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights issues, including children’s rights, in their host countries. FCO staff routinely raise our concerns with host governments and where possible they take action on individual cases and lobby for changes in discriminatory practices and laws. The FCO will continue to raise child rights with
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other governments when necessary. We will also work in the UN and with other international organisations to uphold universal standards.
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on its treatment of Ai Weiwei and his colleagues. [52370]
Mr Jeremy Browne: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made clear in a public statement on 4 April 2011 our concerns about the detention of Ai Weiwei. He called on the Chinese Government to clarify Mr Ai’s situation and wellbeing and hoped that he would be released immediately. On 11 April my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister raised the case of Ai Weiwei and those of other dissidents detained in recent weeks when he met Secretary of the Communist Party of China Shanghai Municipal Committee, Yu Zhengsheng. Senior officials in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have also raised the case of Ai Weiwei with the Chinese embassy in London. We will continue to monitor developments in Mr Ai’s case closely and look for further appropriate opportunities to raise our concerns.
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Chinese counterpart on the right of workers in that country to join a trade union. [52376]
Mr Jeremy Browne: I have not had any recent discussions with the Chinese Government on the specific issue of the right of workers to join a trade union. However we have consistently urged the Chinese to make progress on all areas that would lead to the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which includes the right to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and join trade unions.
Mr Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Colombian authorities on the detention of Professor Miguel Angel Beltran in a high security unit in La Picota prison, Bogota. [52345]
Mr Jeremy Browne: A representative of our embassy attended the opening of Dr Beltran Villegas’ trial on 11 November. Our ambassador raised Dr Beltran Villegas’ case in a meeting with the Head of the Vice-President’s Unit for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law on 17 November 2010. His case was also raised in the EU-Colombia human rights dialogue on 23 November 2010.
Most recently, I raised our general human rights concerns with the Colombian Vice Minister for Defence Yaneth Giha on 11 January and Deputy Foreign Minister Patti Londono on 26 January and discussed ways in which the UK can support efforts to improve the situation in Colombia.
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We will continue to underline to the Colombian authorities that those charged with crimes should have their legal rights fully respected, including to a fair and efficient trial but we cannot interfere in Colombia’s judicial process.
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the parliamentary and presidential elections in that country in November 2011. [51802]
Mr Bellingham: Our ambassador to Kinshasa has met senior figures in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government including the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Interior Minister and the Presidents of the National Assembly and Senate to discuss the elections. He stressed that the elections must be credible and well administered with the right to freedom of expression protected for opposition candidates, civil society, and journalists. Recently Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials met the head of the independent national electoral commission (CENI) who agreed to manage the electoral process in consultation with opposition parties and the international community.
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many of his Department’s staff have taken early retirement in each of the last five years; and what the cost to his Department was in each such year. [50839]
Mr Bellingham: The following costs are based on financial years:
95 staff left under Flexible or Compulsory Early Retirement terms (FER/CER). 13 left under a voluntary exit scheme run under the new Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS). The total cost to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) was £13,170,378. This includes a sum of £819,928 which went to buying out the actuarial reduction of the pension for the seven staff who chose this option under the CSCS. 23 left under Approved Early Retirement (AER) terms with a total cost of £2,128,806.
111 staff left under FER/CER terms and the total cost to the FCO was £12,407,375. 10 left under AER terms with a total cost of £1,748,774.
79 left under FER/CER terms and the total cost was £10,986,999.
103 left under FER/CER terms, and the total cost to the FCO was £18,918,138. 17 left under AER terms and the total cost was £777,707.
84 left under FER/CER terms and the total cost to the FCO was £11,269,250. Three left under AER terms and the total cost was £489,251.
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Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what public sector job reduction targets have been set for his Department and its non-departmental public bodies for each of the next 24 months; and what steps he plans to take to meet such targets. [51523]
Mr Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is currently considering work force planning options for the comprehensive spending review period which runs to the end of financial year 2014-15. The FCO's funding reduces in real terms by around 10% over this period and the work force will also reduce broadly in line with the budget. The FCO is subject to the Government-wide recruitment freeze and we expect that the necessary reductions should be achievable through retirement and voluntary early departure.
We do not hold details of non-departmental public bodies’ work force plans.
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials in his Department are provided with mobile communication devices; and how much his Department spent on mobile telephones and related data services in the last year for which figures are available. [51421]
Mr Lidington: From centrally recorded accounts the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has provided 3,259 mobile devices for officers in the UK and overseas. This figure does not include any purchases made overseas using devolved budgets. Records of such purchases are not held centrally and are only available at disproportionate cost. Under normal circumstances each officer would have only one device.
The latest information covering 1 April to 31 December 2010 shows that the FCO spent £1.9 million on mobile devices globally. All numbers and figures provided above may have included devices and spend for other Government Departments working alongside the FCO.
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 956W, on departmental public appointments, for what reasons the answer referred to a website address that is not operational; and how many (a) women and (b) men who held public appointments in bodies sponsored by his Department are no longer in those roles as a result of decisions to merge, close or reorganise such bodies taken since his appointment. [51444]
Mr Jeremy Browne: The website link given in my previous answer leads to the Public Bodies 2009 report which has the latest summary information.
The changes to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office arm’s length bodies as a result of this process have resulted in the loss of one job, held by a man.
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Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which overseas offices, departments and places of business funded by his Department, excluding embassies and consulates, are funded directly or indirectly by (a) his Department only, (b) devolved administrations, (c) local government and (d) non-departmental bodies for which his Department is responsible. [50958]
Mr Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) operates a network of over 260 posts overseas for Her Majesty’s Government. Some do not have formal status as an embassy or consulate, such as our missions to multilateral and other international bodies or other offices, for example, the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Lashkar Gah.
Where devolved administrations, local government and/or non-departmental bodies are present in these missions, the FCO would seek to recover any costs incurred.
Mr Douglas Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions Ministers in his Department have met Ministers in the Government of (a) Brazil, (b) Russia, (c) India and (d) China since May 2010. [48334]
Mr Hague: My ministerial team and I have met Ministers in the Governments of Brazil, Russia, India and China on numerous occasions since May 2010. Foreign and Commonwealth Office Ministers have also attended numerous bilateral and multilateral meetings and conferences at which Ministers from these Governments have been present.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) how many and what proportion of British (a) embassies, (b) High Commissions and (c) other overseas posts have a dedicated human rights officer; [50911]
(2) how many British embassies, High Commissions and overseas posts have a dedicated trade officer; [50913]
(3) how many UK-based staff of his Department work exclusively on human rights issues; and what proportion of the total number of UK-based staff of his Department this represents; [50914]
(4) what proportion of the total number of staff of his Department work exclusively on (a) human rights and (b) trade issues. [50915]
Mr Bellingham: Promoting human rights is an integral part of our foreign policy. All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) missions overseas have a responsibility to consider human rights in all of our bilateral and multilateral work and to raise concerns about human rights wherever and whenever they arise.
My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs launched the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) 2010 report on human
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rights and democracy on 31 March 2011. The report is a comprehensive look at human rights work of the FCO around the world in 2010.
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 16 September 2010, Official Report, column 1186W, by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the right hon. Member for South Shields (David Miliband), which details the number of staff in London working exclusively on human rights issues. These staff are assisted by geographical teams at home and by staff at FCO missions overseas.
32 UK-based FCO civil servants work full-time on trade and investment issues in London. They are assisted by staff in geographical teams at home and other UK Trade and Investment and non-UK Trade and Investment UK-based staff at FCO missions overseas. Staff recruited locally to work at posts overseas also work on trade and investment issues.
For operational and security reasons we cannot give further details of staff deployments and activity levels.
Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provision exists for the consideration of human rights issues at British embassies, High Commissions and overseas posts which do not have a dedicated human rights officer. [50912]
Mr Bellingham: All Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) overseas missions monitor and raise human rights with their host countries. Since human rights are an integral part of the FCO’s work, many FCO staff at home and overseas work directly on human rights issues, including Heads of Mission and some staff recruited locally. The FCO human rights and democracy department in London supports our embassies, high commissions and overseas posts in the pursuit of their human rights objectives by providing specialist thematic advice, training and guidance materials. All FCO staff have access to a wide range of thematic human rights resources.
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on project-by-project due diligence reporting by UK registered companies engaged in mineral extraction in the Great lakes region of Africa. [51801]
Mr Bellingham: On 29 March 2011 I hosted a trade event, bringing together global experts on business, human rights, conflict and natural resources to provide advice and expertise to British business potentially dealing in conflict minerals. I invited a number of ministerial colleagues with an interest in the corporate social responsibility agenda.
The UK Government encourage British companies trading in natural resources from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and its neighbouring countries to do so in a way which is socially, economically and environmentally responsible, including adhering to the voluntary guidelines set out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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The UK has been a strong supporter of work by the OECD and UN DRC Group of Experts to produce a clear set of due diligence guidelines for companies trading in minerals from eastern DRC.
We have launched new pages on the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website designed to help companies trading in minerals originating in conflict-affected areas identify the different guidelines and regulation that may apply to them and where they can find further information:
www.fco.gov.uk/conflictminerals
My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer raised the issue of international rules on extractives transparency at February’s G20 Finance Ministers meeting and made clear that the UK will be arguing for a European agreement that matches the new standards set in the US.
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces on (a) ending the state of emergency, (b) the release of political prisoners and (c) the establishment of an interim civilian authority in that country. [51800]
Alistair Burt: My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister visited Egypt on 21 February 2011. He met Field Marshal Tantawi, Head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, and emphasised Egypt’s opportunity to make a genuine transition from military to civilian democratic rule. He stressed the importance of setting a clear timetable for elections and of pursuing a broad-based dialogue with opposition groups. He also called on the military authorities to release all political prisoners and end the state of emergency.
We will continue to encourage the Egyptian authorities to fulfil their commitments, especially safeguarding the legitimate demands of the people and overseeing a transition to a democratic, civilian-led government. In a telephone call to the Egyptian Prime Minister on 8 March 2011 the Prime Minister reinforced the UK’s support for a successful transition, and I discussed this in detail with senior Egyptian Ministers during my visit to Egypt from 9 to 11 March 2011.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will estimate the proportion of UK residents who have not received adequate information about the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights; and if he will take steps to ensure that the UK is not subject to the provisions of the Charter. [52470]
Mr Lidington: As the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU does not create any new justiciable rights or change the current status of fundamental rights as they apply in EU law, the Government do not believe it would be a cost effective use of resources to estimate the proportion of UK residents that do not feel well informed about the Charter.
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The Charter and the Lisbon treaty have not changed the content or effect of EU fundamental rights as they apply in EU law. It has long been recognised that fundamental rights, as guaranteed by the European Court of Human Rights and as they result from the constitutional traditions common to the member states, constitute general principles of EU law (as confirmed by Article 6(3) TEU). The Charter and the Lisbon treaty do not give the European Court of Justice or national courts any new powers to strike down national laws and practices for breaching fundamental rights. Furthermore, the UK is required to comply with the fundamental rights restated in the Charter only when it is giving effect to EU law, reflecting the long-standing case law of the European Court of Justice. These limits on the effects of the Charter are confirmed by both Protocol No. 30 to the treaties and the terms of the Charter and the treaties themselves.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the EU Fundamental Rights Agency has spent in each year since its inception; and how many staff it has employed in each such year. [52474]
Mr Lidington: The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights' (FRA) annual accounts are published online. According to their reports, their expenditure was €14.2 million in 2007, €15 million in 2008, €17 million in 2009 and €20 million in 2010. These accounts have been subject to UK parliamentary scrutiny.
The FRA have informed us that they employed 45 members of staff in 2007, 47 in 2008, 65 in 2009 and 78 in 2010. They currently employ a total of 83 members of staff.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what contribution he plans to make to the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers informal meeting on 5 April 2011 on preparing a draft declaration for adoption at the High Level Conference on the Future of the European Court of Human Rights; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the representations the Government have made on this matter. [50271]
Mr Lidington: The UK will contribute fully to ensure that the draft declaration reflects our priorities for reform of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR).
The Government have participated actively in discussions within the Council of Europe on the reform of the ECtHR. This has not involved the submission of formal written representations on this issue.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which vacant posts in the European External Action Service have been notified to his Department; and whether he has been consulted on filling such vacancies. [51772]
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Mr Lidington: 220 positions have been advertised in the European External Action Service (EEAS) since March 2010. Of these 62 are in Brussels and 158 in European Union delegations. The advertisements are sent to all member states and are advertised in the EU institutions. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office circulates the details internally as well as across Whitehall, processes applications from British candidates and forwards them to Brussels. Appointments into the EEAS are made in Brussels, based on an open, meritocratic system. Many of the jobs are still being processed, but a number of British candidates have either been successful or reached the final stages of the application process.
I am consulted and informed, where appropriate, about candidates for senior positions.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to visit Gibraltar. [52065]
Mr Lidington: I visited Gibraltar on 12-13 April 2011 this year. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs currently has no plans to visit.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his (a) Spanish and (b) Gibraltarian counterpart on Gibraltar's sovereign territorial waters. [52066]
Mr Lidington: The UK Government are confident of their sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. We continue to make this clear to Spain whenever appropriate at official and ministerial level. The issue was raised by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with his Spanish counterpart, Trinidad Jimenez during their meeting on 17 February 2011 in London. I discussed this with the Chief Minister during my visit to Gibraltar on 12-13 April 2011.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what customs procedures operate for Gibraltarian citizens who cross the border from Spain to Gibraltar. [52067]
Mr Lidington: Gibraltar is outside the EU Common Customs Area and full Customs controls therefore apply to all persons entering or leaving Gibraltar. Customs are a matter for the Government of Gibraltar.
On the Gibraltar side of the border foot passengers pass through a customs hall immediately after passport control when entering Gibraltar. Vehicles can choose to enter either a green “nothing to declare” or red “goods to declare” lane after passport control. Any foot passenger or vehicle, whether of Gibraltarian or other origin, may be stopped by customs officials.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Government of Gibraltar received from the EU in each of the last five years. [52068]
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Mr Lidington: Funding from the European Union for Gibraltar is allocated on a multi-year basis, Gibraltar receives funding from the UK's allocation of Structural Funds under the European Regional Development Fund Competitiveness and Employment programme. For the seven year period to 2013, this amounts to €5.8 million. This is a specific operational programme for Gibraltar, and is managed by the Gibraltar Government.
From 2007-13, Gibraltar will receive €3.3 million from the European Social Fund (ESF). While the Gibraltar Government manage their ESF allocation, it is part of the national England and Gibraltar Convergence, Competitiveness and Employment programme.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many officials from his Department are posted to Gibraltar. [52070]
Mr Bellingham: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to the right hon. Member for Paisley and Renfrewshire South (Mr Alexander) on 17 February 2011, Official Report, columns 993-97W.
Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what assessment he has made of the Annual Activity Report 2010 by the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, CommDH(2011)4; and if he will make a statement; [51684]
(2) with reference to the Annual Activity Report 2010 by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, CommDH(2011)4, what his policy is on the request by the Commissioner for Human Rights for an increase in the resources available to the Commissioner; and what assessment he has made of an appropriate level of resources for the Commissioner; [51685]
(3) with reference to the Annual Activity Report 2010 of the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, CommDH(2011)4, what his policy is on the request by the Commissioner for Human Rights to increase the permanent posts available to the Commissioner from 19 to 30; and what assessment he has made of the appropriate staffing level for the Commissioner’s office; [51686]
(4) To with reference to the Annual Activity Report 2010 by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights, CommDH(2011)4, when the report will be discussed by the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers; and whether the Government plans to approve its contents. [51693]
Mr Lidington: The report will be presented to the Committee of Ministers on 25 May. We will study it carefully.
Priti Patel:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress of UK-Indian relations following
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the delegation in July 2010; what steps the Government are taking to strengthen UK-India relations; and what trade opportunities between the UK and India he expects to arise in the next 12 months. [52478]
Alistair Burt: The bilateral relationship with India sits on solid foundations, and the UK is committed to making this partnership stronger, wider and deeper to mutual benefit. Since my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister's visit, and the summit with Indian Prime Minister Singh in July 2010, we have set in train an ambitious agenda of practical co-operation.
A number of further visits, including by Cabinet Ministers, have taken place in both directions. A significant UK trade delegation accompanied my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on a visit to India in January for the annual Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) talks. In February, the India-UK Chief Executive Officers (CEO) Forum met for the first time, with CEOs from both countries discussing ways to improve bilateral trade and investment with the Prime Minister and other Ministers. This was followed by a first visit by my noble Friend the Minister for Trade and Investment to India in March. One of the largest ever foreign investment deals in India was announced in March when BP signed a new $7.2 billion oil and gas partnership with Reliance Industries.
A new phase in the UK/India education and research initiative will further enhance co-operation between educational institutions and provide a platform for the increased ties in science and technology that will help drive economic growth on both sides. Co-operation also continues in the areas of defence, counter terrorism and climate change. India's new membership of the UN Security Council also provides an opportunity to engage even more closely on key international issues.
In the next 12 months, we expect to support an ever-increasing number of firms doing business in and investigating the Indian market to encourage progress toward the agreed target to double trade by 2015. We will support trade missions both ways, work with relevant bodies such as the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), and the Indian High Commission to promote opportunities, and encourage greater collaboration and business through Government-to-Government mechanisms such as the next PM-PM summit, economic and financial dialogue, JETCO and CEO Forum. We will also promote the successful conclusion of an EU-India Free Trade Agreement and work with India towards a conclusion of the Doha Round, which will give rise to trade opportunities for both countries.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department considers the Indian Ocean to be an at risk zone in respect of piracy. [51788]
Mr Bellingham:
Yes. I refer the right hon. Member to my response of 31 March 2011, Official Report, columns 431-32W. Acts of piracy occur across the world, although they are most prevalent in parts of the Indian ocean.
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Military forces define the high risk area by the coordinates of the voluntary reporting scheme used by the UK Maritime Trade Operation and industry-agreed Best Management Practice. These co-ordinates are the Suez canal to the north, 10°S latitude and 78°E longitude. Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice advises against all but essential travel in the area and uses the following latitude and longitude: 15°N in the Red sea, 23°N in the Arabian sea, 78°E and 15°S in the Indian ocean.
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Iranian Government on the sentences of Baha'i leaders imprisoned in 2010. [51799]
Alistair Burt: I remain deeply concerned about the plight of the seven Baha'i leaders still in custody in Iran. I strongly condemn the recent rushed re-trial of the leaders, and their re-sentencing to 20 years in prison. We remain clear that the leaders are being tried for no more than practising their faith. On 4 April 2011 my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs released a statement calling on the Iranian judiciary to review the case and calling on Iran to cease the persecution of members of the Baha'i faith. We continue regularly to raise the case of the Baha'i leaders and discrimination against the Baha'is with the Iranian authorities, including twice with the Iranian Chargé d'affaires in February and March. It is important that we keep the international spotlight on Iran and highlight the frequent abuses as they occur.
Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) whether he plans to make representations to the Government of Iran on the increase in sentences for members of the Baha'i faith imprisoned in Iran; [51841]
(2) what reports he has received of arbitrary increases in the prison sentences of members of the Baha'i faith imprisoned in Iran. [51868]
Alistair Burt: I remain deeply concerned about the plight of the seven Baha'i leaders still in custody in Iran. I strongly condemn the recent rushed re-trial of the leaders, and their re-sentencing to 20 years in prison. We remain clear that the leaders are being tried for no more than practising their faith. On 4 April my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs released a statement calling on the Iranian judiciary to review the case and calling on Iran to cease the persecution of members of the Baha'i faith. We continue regularly to raise the case of the Baha'i leaders and discrimination against the Baha'is with the Iranian authorities, including twice with the Iranian chargé d’affaires in February and March. It is important that we keep the international spotlight on Iran and highlight the frequent abuses as they occur.
Mrs Ellman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what recent meetings the UK’s diplomatic representative to Iran has had with the Iranian authorities on the trial of Mrs Fariba
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Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Maimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mrs Mahvash Sabet, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr Vahid Tizfahm; [52108]
(2) pursuant to the answer of 10 January 2011, Official Report, columns 225-26W, on Iran: trials, what recent representations he has made to the Government of Iran on the trial of Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr Afif Maimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mrs Mahvash Sabet, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr Vahid Tizfahm. [52191]
Alistair Burt: I remain deeply concerned about the plight of the seven Baha’i leaders still in custody in Iran. I strongly condemn the recent rushed re-trial of the leaders, and their re-sentencing to 20 years in prison. We remain clear that the leaders are being tried for no more than practising their faith. On 4 April my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs released a statement calling on the Iranian judiciary to review the case and calling on Iran to cease the persecution of members of the Baha’i faith. We continue regularly to raise the case of the Baha’i leaders and discrimination against the Baha’is with the Iranian authorities, including twice with the Iranian chargé d’affaires in February and March. It is important that we keep the international spotlight on Iran and highlight the frequent abuses as they occur.
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Iran on respect for human rights in that country. [52109]
Alistair Burt: The human rights situation in Iran remains deeply disturbing and was highlighted prominently in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Human Rights Command Paper, placed in the House on 31 March 2011. The UK has been at the forefront of recent action in the EU to apply restrictive measures against human rights abusers in Iran. The UK also worked to support the establishment of a UN Special Rapporteur for Iran, and highlighted the human rights situation in Iran in statements in the UN Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva in March. On a bilateral level, we continue to highlight our concerns and request additional information about specific cases during meetings with the Iranian embassy in London, and through the our embassy in Tehran. We will continue to do so, while also making clear statements condemning cases where injustice has occurred.
Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received of violence and alleged human rights abuses in Sulaymania. [51798]
Alistair Burt:
We have received reports of intimidation and violence being committed against journalists and protestors during recent demonstrations across Iraq,
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including the Kurdistan region. Following the demonstrations, I released the following statement on 10 March:
“We have been following events in Iraq closely. We are concerned at a number of reports of harassment of protestors, including political groups associated with the protests, and of violence against journalists and media offices across Iraq. We call on the Iraqi and Kurdish authorities to investigate these incidents and to protect the right to freedom of expression and assembly.”
Officials at our embassy in Iraq regularly discuss the human rights situation with senior members of the Iraqi Government, and raise concerns when appropriate. Our consul-general in Erbil recently made representations to the Kurdistan regional Government about the importance of respecting the rights and freedoms of protestors.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will assess the effectiveness of arrangements for the evacuation of British nationals from Libya in comparison with (a) the evacuation from Lebanon in 2006 and (b) other recent evacuations; and if he will make a statement. [48876]
Alistair Burt: Each evacuation takes place in different circumstances and under different constraints. This makes it difficult to compare evacuations directly. In Lebanon in 2006, some 4,500 persons, including around 2,000 British nationals, were safely evacuated by British forces, the majority by sea. The recent crises in Tunisia and Egypt were examples of how we have assisted the departure of British nationals from a country without reaching the stage of a formal evacuation. In Tunisia we worked closely with tour operators to repatriate more than 3,000 British nationals. In Egypt we helped over 2,000 British nationals to leave the country by commercial means and arranged two charter flights to facilitate the departure of a further 200 British nationals and their dependants. In Libya, around 140 British nationals were evacuated by sea and over 450 by air, using a combination of civilian and military flights. In addition, over 150 British nationals were evacuated from remote desert locations using military assets. In total the UK evacuated over 1,600 people from Libya, including nationals from 54 countries.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) always carries out a lessons learned exercise following any crisis, including evacuations. Additionally, the FCO is carrying out a review of arrangements for leading an evacuation of British nationals in a crisis. The review will consider the contingency arrangements that the FCO has in place and the triggers and procedures for moving to a crisis footing and mounting civilian and military evacuation operations.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on attitudes to Jews in the Arab world; what recent discussions he has had with the Arab League about this issue; and if he will make a statement. [50302]
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Alistair Burt: The Government strongly condemn the continued prevalence of anti-Semitism around the world and promote policies to tackle this through a range of international organisations. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s overseas missions have a responsibility to monitor and raise human rights in their host countries and routinely raise our concerns with host Governments, including freedom of religion or belief when appropriate.
Attitudes towards Jewish people across the Arab world are linked to attitudes towards Israel. We receive independent research on these issues from institutions such as Chatham House, Carnegie Middle East Centre and the Brookings Institute. The latter, in association with the University of Maryland, produced a report last autumn mapping Arab public opinion towards Israel, across six Arab states, from 2008 until 2010. They reported that in 2010 just over half of the respondents were prepared for peace with Israel upon a successful conclusion of the peace process.
Mrs Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the conclusions of the report of the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict; and if he will make a statement. [51858]
Alistair Burt: The Goldstone report outlines serious allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law during the Gaza conflict. Justice Goldstone acknowledges in his recent comments that some aspects of his report would look differently in light of new evidence, correcting the allegation in the report that Israel intentionally targeted civilians.
Justice Goldstone has made clear that there is no reason to reconsider the various other serious allegations contained in the report at this time.
This latest insight into the events surrounding the Gaza conflict have come about because of the process that was set in train by his Fact Finding Mission, and is absolutely consistent with our longstanding policy of calling for full, credible and independent investigations by the parties into any and all allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law.
Allegations of breaches of international humanitarian law made against all parties to the Gaza conflict are not limited to the Goldstone report and have arisen from various other credible sources. We firmly believe that any and all such allegations must be met with credible and independent investigations by the parties to the conflict.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on rocket attacks from Gaza on 25 March 2011; and if he will make a statement. [51956]
Alistair Burt: Our embassy in Tel Aviv monitors rocket attacks on Israel closely. As we have consistently made clear all such attacks should stop. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs made a statement on these issues on 25 March 2011:
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“I am extremely concerned at the escalating violence in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories over the past week. We have seen a surge in rockets and mortars launched at Israeli civilians from the Gaza strip. This is abhorrent. Three people have been injured, many more are living in fear. Six Palestinian civilians, including four children, have been killed as a result of Israeli actions in the Gaza strip. We have urged the Israeli government to ensure everything is done to avoid further civilian casualties while calling for a complete end to attacks on Israel.
And we have seen the terrible sight—which we hoped belonged to the past—of a bomb at a bus station in Jerusalem. A British woman was killed and more than 30 injured. I condemn this attack in the strongest terms and call for those responsible to be held to account. Elsewhere, we have seen Israeli settlers opening fire on a Palestinian funeral procession, wounding two mourners. Also, another Palestinian was stabbed in an unprovoked attack.
We condemn the extremists who are instigating this violence and who are deliberately attempting to wreck the chances of peace. We call on all sides to do all that they can to prevent further loss of innocent life, to bring the perpetrators to justice and to reduce current tensions.”
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the deployment of the Iron Dome missile defence system outside Be'er Sheva, Israel on 27 March 2011; and if he will make a statement. [51957]
Alistair Burt: Israel has the right to defend its citizens. We respect and recognise that fact. The stationing of an anti-rocket defence system around Be'er Sheva is an important step in this context.
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the location by Hezbollah of missile bunkers adjacent to civilian facilities south of the Litani river in Lebanon; and if he will make a statement. [51958]
Alistair Burt: International investigations carried out after the 2006 Lebanon Israel war found that Hezbollah often stored and fired weaponry from civilian buildings. There is no reason to believe that Hezbollah would reconsider operating from civilian buildings in any future conflict with Israel. Reports suggest extensive preparations for Hezbollah to fight in built up areas south of the Litani.
UN Security Council Resolution 1701 calls for a full ceasefire, including no weapons south of the Litani River. We remain concerned by reports of weapons transfers to Hezbollah, including Hezbollah’s own claims that it possesses significant military capabilities.
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the right hon. Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague) during his visit to Syria in January made clear and firm representations to President Assad and Foreign Minister Muallem on the dangers to the stability of the region in allowing the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah. My officials continue to raise UN Security Council Resolution 1701 at a senior level in both Beirut and Damascus.
Caroline Lucas:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he had discussions with his Italian counterpart on the (a) physical condition and (b) human rights of refugees from North Africa who have arrived in Lampedusa in
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the last three months; and whether he has had discussions with his EU counterparts on (i) resettlement capacity, (ii) resettlement programmes, (iii) assessment of needs, (iv) resources for the processing of applications and resettlement needs, (v) resources for (A) children, (B) women at risk of physical, sexual or psychological violence or exploitation, (C) survivors of torture, (D) people with urgent medical or other special needs and (E) disabled people and (vi) integration support and services for resettlement in respect of refugees from North Africa; and if he will make a statement. [51326]
Mr Lidington [holding answer 5 April 2011]:The Council of the European Union is considering carefully the impact of current events in North Africa on migratory flows. At its meeting on 11 March, the European Council asked the Justice and Home Affairs Council to consider how to develop capacities to manage migration and refugee flows. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for the Home Department will report the outcome of meetings of the Justice and Home Affairs Council and of the European Council to the House as usual, including progress on this issue. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has not had any specific bilateral discussions with his Italian counterpart on this issue.
Guto Bebb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received on the naming of a town square in the Palestinian town Al-Bireh after Dalal al-Murghrabi; and if he will make a statement. [52231]
Alistair Burt: The UK deplores all incitement to violence. The naming of a square after the leader of the 1978 terrorist attack would have been distasteful under any circumstances, but particularly so in the wake of the murders that occurred in Itamar. We also strongly oppose the payment of cash directly linked to acts of violence. Our consulate general in Jerusalem will raise these issues with the Fatah Leadership.
We welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ condemnation of the murders that occurred in Itamar. He said they were despicable, immoral and inhuman, We endorse President Abbas’ commitment to a path of non-violence and a negotiated solution to the peace process.
Mr Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has had discussions with the Save our Seafarers Campaign on action against piracy. [51789]
Mr Bellingham:
I meet regularly with shipping industry and shipping union representatives, including those involved in the SOS Save Our Seafarers campaign, and discuss the plight of seafarers, which is a matter of great concern to the Government. The Government support the six key actions proposed by the campaign, have advocated these actions strongly with our partners through the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia,
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and distributed them to UN Security Council members through the UK Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
Mr Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the running costs of the office of the President of the European Council. [50489]
Mr Bellingham: My right hon. Friend the Minister for Europe has not received any specific reports on the running costs of the office of the President of the European Council.
The Council President's budget is part of the general budget of the European Council and Council of Ministers (Section II of the European Union budget). For 2012, the Council has proposed savings of 4.4% which we have welcomed, although we believe that the Council should go even further. Indeed, the EU institutions must set an example of reform, with a robust value for money drive, in line with the austerity measures and public spending reprioritisation in member states.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department has given to UK nationals (a) living in and (b) visiting Somaliland in the last five years. [50410]
Mr Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises against all travel to Somalia, including Somaliland. There is no British representation in any part of Somalia and we are unable to provide consular assistance there. However, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, through its embassy in Addis Ababa and High Commission in Nairobi, has provided some consular assistance to British nationals there, most often issuing replacement passports.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate has been made of the number of UK nationals who have (a) visited and (b) worked in Somaliland in the each of the last five years. [50411]
Mr Bellingham: We are unable to estimate the number of British nationals who have visited Somaliland in each of the last five years. We are aware that British nationals work in Somaliland on a short term basis with the UN and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and that many dual nationals visit Somaliland, but do not have precise figures. We advise against all travel to Somalia, including Somaliland. We urge anyone travelling to Somaliland in spite of our travel advice to register with us. There are 65 registered at present.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions has he had with representatives of the administration in Somaliland. [50414]
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Mr Bellingham: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs has not yet held discussions with any members of the Somaliland administration. However, I held discussions with President Silanyo in November 2010. I also met the Somaliland Foreign Minister, Minister for Planning and Development and Minister for Mining, Energy and Water Resources at the Somaliland investment conference on 31 March 2011.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of crimes against British tourists in Somaliland in the last 12 months. [52073]
Mr Jeremy Browne: There have been no specific reports of crimes against British tourists in Somaliland in the past year. Our consular office in Addis Ababa, which covers Somaliland, has issued a number of emergency travel documents to British nationals over the last 12 months. But we have no evidence that these documents were required as a result of crime in Somaliland.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) his Sudanese counterpart and (b) officials of the Sudanese government on determining the borders of Abyei. [51244]
Mr Bellingham: I raised the issue of Abyei when I met Presidential Adviser Dr Mustafa Osman Ismail on 28 March 2011. Our ambassador in Khartoum and the UK Special Representative for Sudan regularly discuss Abyei with the Governments in both Khartoum and Juba. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs issued a joint statement with his US and Norwegian Troika colleagues on 15 March 2011 urging both parties to resume their dialogue on post-referendum issues, including Abyei.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the situation at the Abyei border in Sudan; and if he will make a statement. [51245]
Mr Bellingham: We have been very concerned at the recent clashes in the Abyei region, including those on 27-28 February 2011 and 1-2 March 2011 between Northern and Southern groups in the area.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration issued its judgment on the Abyei boundary on 22 July 2009. Both the National Congress Party and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement agreed to abide by the decision.
Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had any meetings since September 2010 with representatives of (a) Tesco, (b) Sainsbury’s, (c) Asda, (d) Morrisons and (e) trade associations of which these companies are members. [52212]
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John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on offshore avoidance of UK taxes in (a) Bermuda, (b) the British Virgin Islands, (c) the Cayman Islands, (d) the Falkland Islands, (e) Gibraltar, (f) Montserrat and (g) the Turks and Caicos Islands. [52299]
The UK has arrangements in place for information exchange on tax matters, including tax avoidance, with all of the above mentioned territories.
Sir Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the damage caused to (a) the environment and (b) natural life following the collision of MS Oliva with Nightingale Island on 16 March 2011; what (i) equipment and (ii) personnel he plans to send to Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands; what bird life he has assessed as being at risk in the region; and if he will make a statement on any assistance he plans to send to the population of Tristan da Cunha in respect of the crisis. [51516]
Mr Bellingham: Leaked fuel oil from the wreck of the MV Oliva has washed ashore on Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands. It has impacted both protected wildlife and the fisheries on which the islands' economy relies. The Tristan authorities and community are working hard to help the wildlife affected by the oil. The greatest impact has so far been on the Northern Rockhopper penguins, some 4,000 of which have been moved to Tristan Island for cleaning and rehabilitation. The fisheries at Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands will remain closed until testing has been completed. The full impact on the wildlife and fisheries will take time to assess.
The responsibility to clean up the damage caused to the environment of the Tristan da Cunha islands and to compensate the Tristan community for any losses lies with the ship's owners and insurers. We are determined that they will continue to meet this responsibility in full. We have also been in close touch with the Tristan da Cunha authorities throughout and are ensuring that they have all the advice and support they need from across Government and elsewhere.
While the Government are quite clear that all costs resulting from this incident must be borne by the owners and insurers of the vessel, a top-up to Tristan da Cunha's financial reserves of £500,000 has been made from Foreign and Commonwealth Office funds to protect the community against immediate and short-term expenditure. A salvage tug carried the first material for the clean up to the islands. Additional equipment and personnel arrived at Tristan Island on 4 April 2011 and a further vessel carrying supplies reached Tristan on 12 April. The remoteness of the site and the demanding conditions mean, however, that this is a very difficult operation.
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Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he has provided with the clean up operation resulting from the MS Oliva bunker oil leak in Tristan da Cunha. [52063]
Mr Bellingham: The responsibility to clean up the damage caused to the environment of the Tristan da Cunha islands, and to compensate the Tristan community for any losses lies with the ship's owners and insurers. We are determined that they will continue to meet this responsibility in full. We have also been in close touch with the Tristan da Cunha Authorities throughout and are ensuring that they have all the advice and support they need from across Government and elsewhere.
The Tristan Authorities and community are working hard to help the wildlife affected by the oil, and to clean up the pollution from the wreck. Equipment and expert help has been supplied by the wrecked vessel's insurers. The fisheries at Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands will remain closed until testing has been completed. But the full impacts on the wildlife and fisheries will take time to assess.
While the Government are quite clear that all costs resulting from this incident must be borne by the owners and insurers of the vessel, a top-up of £500,000 has been made to Tristan da Cunha's financial reserves from Foreign and Commonwealth Office funds to protect the community against immediate and short-term expenditure.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent steps he has taken in relation to the salvage of M.S. Oliva on Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha. [52064]
Mr Bellingham: We have ensured that the Tristan da Cunha authorities have had expert advice from across Government and elsewhere on all issues arising from the wreck of the Motor Vessel (MV) Oliva.
The responsibility for any salvage of the wreck lies with the owners and insurers of the vessel. A salvage tug spent over a week at the site. But poor sea and weather conditions and the deterioration of the wreck meant it was too dangerous to attempt salvage. The next opportunity to review the condition of the wreck properly and to consider its future will be after the austral winter, the onset of which is imminent.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost of the Turks and Caicos Special Investigation and Prosecution Team investigation has been to date. [52082]
Mr Bellingham: The Special Investigation and Prosecution Team has confirmed that the total cost of the investigation up to the end of January 2011 was approximately £4.3 million.
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Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Dominican Republic citizens are resident on the British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos. [52074]
Mr Bellingham: The Turks and Caicos Islands Government do not hold this information.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many Haitian citizens are resident on the British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos. [52075]
Mr Bellingham: The Turks and Caicos Islands Government do not hold this information.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many inmates are detained in Grand Turk Prison, Turks and Caicos. [52080]
Mr Bellingham: On 7 April 2011, the population of Her Majesty's prison in Grand Turk stood at 99; 41 on remand and 58 serving sentences.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what progress has been made on the Coastal Radar System project in Turks and Caicos; and when he expects the project to be completed. [52083]
Mr Bellingham: Considerable progress has been made on the Coastal Radar System project. The tower and antennae have been mounted and testing is imminent.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Government expect that installation and testing will be completed in the summer.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much the Turks and Caicos Government spent on redundancy payouts in each of the last three years. [52084]
Mr Bellingham: Following the closure of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government-sponsored New Media TV channel in November 2009, US$107,467 was paid in terminal benefits. There were no other redundancy payments in this period.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many civil servants have been made redundant in Turks and Caicos in each of the last three years. [52085]
Mr Bellingham:
14 staff members of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government-sponsored New Media TV
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channel were made redundant in November 2009. There were no other civil service redundancies during this period.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many juveniles are detained in Grand Turk Prison, Turks and Caicos. [52079]
Mr Bellingham: On 7 April 2011, there were two juveniles in Her Majesty's prison in Grand Turk.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what provision there is for juvenile detention in Turks and Caicos. [52081]
Mr Bellingham: In general, custodial sentences in the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) are usually only given to juveniles who commit very serious offences. In such instances, juveniles are housed in an area of the prison that is isolated from the general population and are monitored by the Department of Social Development. The previous practice had been to send juveniles abroad after sentence.
The Ministry of Home Affairs and Public Safety is seeking funding from the TCI Government and the Governor's Office to establish a juvenile facility in TCI.
Dr Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his policy is on ratification of the 1969 UN Convention on Special Missions. [51887]
Mr Bellingham: The Government signed the Special Missions Convention on 17 December 1970, but have not yet ratified it. The Government have kept the question of ratification under review, though ratification would entail the passage of primary legislation. However, developments in customary international law regarding special missions and certain high-level official visitors that have been recognised by our courts require that appropriate privileges and immunities are extended to visitors on special missions and other high-level visitors.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 961W, on USA: visits, what information his Department holds on the involvement of the embassies of other countries to the United States in facilitating visitor tours of the White House for their nationals. [51499]
Alistair Burt: We understand that all embassies have had to suspend the processing of White House tours while the State Department re-examines the service, with a view to re-opening it in due course using a new request programme and new staff.
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Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 961W on USA: visits, what information he holds on the embassies in Washington, DC that (a) do and (b) do not offer to process White House tours for their citizens; and in respect of which embassies his Department holds no information. [52233]
Alistair Burt: At the time of the decision to cease the facilitation of White House tours for British nationals in September 2010, our embassy in Washington contacted the embassies of Australia, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. These embassies confirmed they were not offering facilitation of White House tours. Some state on their own websites that they do not facilitate tours of the White House, and advise visitors to go to the official website of the White House for further information. While no embassy can currently process tours, the Italian and French embassies have informed us that they are waiting for details of the new procedures.
Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the answer of 22 March 2011, Official Report, column 961W on USA: visits, what information he holds on trends in domestic demand from United States citizens for White House tours. [52234]
Alistair Burt: We do not hold any information on the numbers of US citizens applying for White House tours, or the reasons for the increase. The relevant department in the US Administration is closed while they reorganise their tour request procedures.
Mr Blunkett: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the transfer of documentation to alternative visa points in the UAE and Amman following the closure of the visa route for those seeking to regain their documentation from the embassy in Yemen; and if he will make a statement. [52097]
Alistair Burt: Due to the increased threat to our embassy staff the visa section was forced to close in October 2010. There were a number of outstanding visa applications at this time. Consequently, a temporary visa officer was despatched to Sana'a to work through outstanding visa applications. All non-settlement applications were taken to the visa hub in Abu Dhabi for processing. Once decisions were reached, all documentation was couriered either directly to the applicants or via the embassy in Sana'a. Embassy staff in Sana'a notified all applicants of settlement visas, and those whose paperwork was returned to the British embassy in Sana'a, that they should attend the embassy to collect their paperwork and receive full refunds where appropriate. There are no outstanding documents or applications in Sana'a other than those awaiting collection by the applicants.
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Visa applicants are responsible for applying to alternative visa points. Yemeni nationals have been able to apply on-line to a number of regional Visa Application Centres (VACs) including Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Cairo and Amman. All visa centres ensure supporting documentation is safely couriered to applicants when the visa process is concluded. If the VACs are unable to deliver visas, passports and other documentation by post, for instance if the address is incomplete, they send them to the British embassy in Sana'a. The applicants are contacted and asked to collect papers. Due to heightened concerns over security, access to the Embassy was not permitted for a period, but this is now possible, and those needing to collect applications have been contacted and informed.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice on safety and security his Department provides to UK citizens wishing to relocate to Zimbabwe. [51667]
Mr Bellingham: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office website hosts the Travel Advice pages, which includes a page for Zimbabwe. The advice is designed to help British travellers make their own decisions, on an informed basis, about travelling abroad, and to help them to avoid trouble by providing information on threats to personal safety arising from political unrest, terrorist activities, lawlessness, violence, natural disasters, epidemics, anti-British demonstrations and aircraft/shipping safety. This advice is regularly updated.
For those without access to the internet the advice can be obtained through our 24/7 Travel Advice call centre on 0845 850 2829.
Our embassy has a website called UK in Zimbabwe which is found at:
www.ukinzimbabwe.fco.gov.uk
This website gives contact details for our embassy in Harare as well as providing a link to our Travel Advice web page.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what advice his Department has made available to UK citizens resident in Zimbabwe who wish to return to the UK. [51668]
Mr Bellingham: Our consular team at our embassy in Harare are always available to respond to inquiries and have several publications that give advice to those British nationals wishing to move back to the UK:
“Moving to the UK” gives comprehensive advice on everything from employment to healthcare as well as outlining the financial help that may be available on return to the UK.
“Repatriation Advice” outlines generic information on how to access UK social services, welfare benefits and health care. It also gives additional information on more specific areas of interest such as obtaining fit to fly certificates and contact details of airport support agencies.
“Residence in the UK” gives visa advice.